Retirement of NAPA Mark
As I write this, my dad is entering his first week of retirement.This seems so weird to me since everyone thinks of my dad as “NAPA Mark”. I always thought of my dad as being forever young and tough. Retirement seems like something “old people” do, and even now, I don’t think of my dad as old – evn though he was already 40something at my earliest memories of him. I guess it all just seems so odd for me to think about. It also is a bit worrisome to think about what COULD become of him based on other retirement stories I have heard. However, I am pretty sure he will be just fine. Cheers to you dad! Here is the skinny…
A month or so ago when I helped my brother move his furniture business into mini-storage, my brother mentioned that my dad had been talking to my other brother about retirement. He didn’t know specifics, but we were assuming it was just talk and hoping he would work until 65 to get his full retirement. It would not be unheard of of my dad to get pissed off one day and say “I don’t need this bullshit” and “retire” on the spot. However, my dad is in great health and probably has another 20 healthy years ahead of him. Therefore, we really hoped he was going to wait for an official retirement deal.
When my family got together for family christmas (vs. the misfit toy xmas), I asked my dad about it. Long story short, the money troubles everyone is seeing are hitting his job and he was asked to retire early. It sounds like he will then get his retirement benefits and all will be well.
So now the question arises… what the heck is my dad going to do now that he is retired. I can’t picture him sitting and staring at my mom day in and day out. He sure isn’t going to turn into a “house dad” (even though his pryo tendencies might be good for some of the clutter around the house). He did mention possibly picking up a side job. However, he too said that having a job prevents you from doing all the stuff you normally like to do…
So what does my dad like to do? Make junk. Making junk is good. It keeps the mind limber and inventive. I got him on the renewable energy kick. I’m confident my dad will make some massive wind generator out of lawn mower parts and duct tape. Perhaps he will make some sort of water collection and recycing gizmo using the gutters and …. duct tape.
Heck yea!
Leave a Reply 
About Me
Blaine Garrett is a Minneapolis-based web designer, fine artists, and general jack of all trades. When he is not designing next-generation web applications or feverishly painting away, he dabbles in other creative endeavors as well as enjoying the fruits of the luscious Twin Cities.
