OP
Ah, the too-familiar 'if you don't like it, quit' job security program.
Two Firefighters Murdered in Idaho
- Thread starter biku324
- Start date
When I retired I had months of sick leave on the books, and I took off every time I got sick...I was only paid for a tiny fraction of the sick hours when I left. But you are right, some of the folks where I worked had the flu every Monday and many times on Friday as well. Then when they really got sick, they were in a pickle, so they would come to work sick, trying to act like a hero, coughing and sneezing all over everything, spreading their joy with everyone else.
When I was working, I would get a flu-like illness about every three or four months. Since I have retired seven years ago, I have not had a snifffle. Working is bad for your health.
OP
After retiring from policing, my blood pressure dropped from a usual 130-135 over 85 to 90 to a reliable 116 over 64. For the past 24 years, 349 days. Neither Iraq nor Somalia jacked it back up.
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I have medical opinion that if hadn't retired when I did I could be dead now. I retired 9 1/2 years ago and my diabetes nurse practitioner who took over my case just before I retired later told me that when she met me for the first time she wasn't sure I was going to make it.
LVSteve
Member
My father retired early at 57. About a year later he bumped into a former coworker in the street and greeted him. The guy did a total double-take, "Is that you?! My God, I need to retire as well if it will make me look so relaxed and 10 years younger."
Pretty good commentary on late 20th century society. Burnout is a thing, because employers and the stock market cannot (refuse?) understand why the basic human does not evolve as per Moore's Law for computing.
I have a good friend that goes through two to three kids every year. All he requires them to do is open the shop (monument company) and put the coffee on. He tells them he expects them to be there at 7:30 am Monday through Friday, put the coffee on and start sweeping up the shop. He gets there just prior to 8:00 sharp and basically opens up the minute he is there, people are usually arriving before 9:00. The kid's only job is opening and coffee, sweeping and later to lend a hand and watch what's going on for about four hours a day, done by noon. The kid will also learn anything he has an aptitude for which may include cutting marble and granite, carving on tombstones and monuments, etc. He pays them minumum wage, around here thats close to fifteen bucks or more. How tough is that? He says for the first week or so everything goes pretty smooth, then one day he will get to the shop and it's not open, no coffee on. The kid drags in and always has some lame excuse, he gives him one break and after that he's gone. He told me he is lucky to get through the summer without going through at least two. One of his long-time employees started that way and is now his right-hand guy. He treats everyone very well and although a small business owner gives them time to care for necessary things and understands life in general. I almost talked him into hiring me after I retired, but I was having too much fun goofing around on my own dime.
