Retirement = Suicide???
          Recently, we discussed retirement plans in my Economics class.  Our teacher explained to us, the importance of starting a retirement fund as early as now, if we want to have a good life when we are older.  He told us about his retirement plan and how he arranged it so that when he retires, he will be able to live off of $3,000 a month.  Someone in class questioned him on his plan.  They wanted to know how long his $3,000 a month will last.  I believe his reply was that it would last until he is 75 years old.  Now, that struck me as rather odd.  In other words, what he's saying is that he only plans to live to be 75.  Therefore, if he is to live longer than that he will have no money, and he will starve to death???  Or is he planning to just shoot himself in the head on his 75th birthday?   I totally don't understand how someone could plan something like that.  There are people nowadays living to be 100!  My neighbor is 98!  What would he do if he had only planned to live to be 75?  It makes no sense!
        Speaking of my neighbor, though, he is the perfect example of how the elderly should be living.  At age 98 he still fights with my mom when she tries to cut his grass or plant his flowers or shovel his snow, because he says he can do it (and he can!).  Every summer he's outside climbing his ladder to trim his trees, or look in at a birds nest.  He amazes me.  He know's so much.  He's in really good shape, and he has a good sense of humor.  I hope that if I live to be 98, I have the energy of that man.  He probably has more energy than I do now!  In fact I'm willing to bet on it...
        And another thing.  If you do plan on retiring at whatever age, you better have something cool planned to do during your retirement.  If you just quit working and then lay on a couch in front of a tv, or sit in a rocking chair and stair out a window feeling sorry for yourself, you're throwing your life away.  If you stop using your brain, you will lose it.  I truly believe that.  So, if you're going to retire, you might want to think about doing something exciting or educational with your time, like traveling the world (which is what you should really be saving your money for).  But if you don't quite want to go to those extremes (or if you physically can't for whatever reason), at least keep your mind active.  Read a book a month, communicate with people daily (about things that matter.. not stupid stuff like "hey, how's the weather?") whether it be by phone or in person (or even on the internet:) share your knowledge, do whatever it takes to keep your brain active.  When you stop using certain parts of your brain, they shut down, and then you become one of those crazy old people that own a million cats and talk to themselves.  We don't want that to happen now do we?
        Anyway, my main point here is do not plan your own death.
 
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