2003 Soap Box Archives

Retirement 06/27/03

This October I will turn 67 years young and some people who don’t know
me too well ask me if I’m intending to retire.

It’s a perfectly feasible question with 65 being the standard
retirement age and an event lots of hard working people look forward to
with great relish.

And that’s wonderful for those who want to spend the rest of their
lives on a golf course or in a bass boat or whatever their particular
extracurricular activity happens to be.

I believe that people should be able to retire at sixty-five if they so
desire but I am definitely against mandatory retirement just because
someone has been on this earth for sixty-five years. Some companies
with mandatory retirement ages fail to reap the benefits of a lifetime
of experience and hands on expertise.

Most people who have reached the age of sixty-five have no desire to
jump around from company to company in the career building games that
many of their younger counterparts practice. Their future is settled
and their loyalty is unquestionable.

These people have developed people skills and personal relationships
over the years which can be invaluable to a company.

As for me, what would I do if I retired? Sit around the house and play
my guitar? What would I do with the songs I write and the new fiddle
licks I come up with? And most of all what would I do about the
overwhelming, burning desire to bounce on a stage and entertain people?

Should I just walk in one day and tell all the people who depend on me
for a living that I’ve decided to spend the rest of my life
collecting stamps or sitting on the front porch in a rocking chair?

Obviously I will have to quit one of these days, but I have made no
plans about when such a day will come and in the meantime I’m going to
keep on living the life I love.

I thank God that I can make a living doing something that I enjoy so
very much. I love it all. I literally enjoy walking to the front of
the bus every morning and pulling the curtains back to see what motel
parking lot the bus is parked in.

I am being very sincere when I say that the feelings I have for the
people who I work with go way beyond affection. I love them every
one and feel for them if they go through a sickness or a death in the
family. Their welfare is a serious concern of mine, that’s why we have
health insurance and 401k plans. They are part of my family.

My employees take care of me with much more care than most people who
are many echelons above me on the musical totem pole. And it is my
place to take care of them, and God willing, we are not going to let 67
years stand in the way.

To the people in The CDB organization retirement means putting a new
set of rubber on the buses.

Pray for our troops.

What do you think?

God Bless America

Charlie Daniels

 

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