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View Full Version : Last day at work. A lot has changed.



Michael Weber
11-14-2013, 10:49 AM
Retiring tomorrow after 40 years, 9 months and 20 days at my current employer:eek: That's not counting leap years.
How lucky was I to get a job with a great company during the days of generous corporate benefits.

Here are a few facts from 1973, the year I was hired.

National Average home price was $32,500. I purchased an older but perfectly fine home in Fort Smith for less than $10,000 and I assumed the previous owners mortgage without financing anew and avoiding all the associated expenses involved with that.:)

National average household income was $12,500 and I'm sure a lot less in Arkansas.

Gasoline started the year around $.35 a gallon. The first OPEC oil embargo later that year and “only” 6.6% inflation soon fixed that.

Dow Jones average ended the year at 850 and while gold began the year near $78.00 it soared to almost $90.00 by years end.

Jet skis, MRI’s, air bags (Oldsmobile Toronado), and UPC bar codes (Wrigley Gum) made their very first appearance.

Sam Waltons upstart Walmart had stores in 5 southern states. It’s stock split for the first time at $47.00.

Motorola, on a prototype phone, made the very first cell call to confirm the technology worked. It would be 10 more years before the first cell phone became available at a cost of $3900.00. It weighed 2 ½ pounds and was larger than a brick.

Looking forward to more time to pursue my own interests and learning to understand speech with my new cochlear implant that's allowing me to hear stuff I haven't heard since childhood. Who knew clocks ticked, leaves rustled in the wind, and raindrops made music when they hit the ground. Pretty awesome. Blessings never stop coming.

Raymond Fries
11-14-2013, 11:25 AM
Congratulations Michael!!

Take Care and Enjoy Your New Life Adventures.

I retired 03/29/2013 and I love it. I am sure you will as well.

Myk Rian
11-14-2013, 12:23 PM
Enjoy 6 Saturdays in each week. I sure do.

Keith Outten
11-14-2013, 12:40 PM
Congratulation Michael on your retirement and the implant.

I can't imagine staying with one company for over 40 years but I certainly agree that it seems our time held more promise than the younger generation has to look forward to today. Welcome to our growing list of retirees :)
.

Rich Engelhardt
11-14-2013, 1:09 PM
I retired two years ago & I'm still having trouble adjusting to it....

It's not at all what I thought it would be.

I've gotten to the point where though where I just dislike it a lot, I don't hate it anymore.
Maybe in another few years I'll get to where I don't mind it.

Anyhow - I'm off to take my daily nap !
That's one of the few things about being retired that I really enjoy a lot!

Bruce Page
11-14-2013, 1:56 PM
Congratulations Michael!
I retired almost 3 years ago and absolutely love it! It took about 6 weeks for me to adjust to the new lifestyle of... Everyday is Saturday!

Rod Sheridan
11-14-2013, 1:58 PM
Michael, best wishes on your retirement.

40 years with a company...........WOW............We don't see much of that anymore.

I've been with my present employer 24 years, I thought that was a high number.

Enjoy your retirement, you've worked for it................Regards, Rod.

Brian Libby
11-14-2013, 2:08 PM
Best wishes and enjoy!! I have been retired 14 months and love it!

Ken Fitzgerald
11-14-2013, 2:47 PM
Congratulations on your retirement, my CI-borg brother!

I was wondering how you were progressing with your CI use. "Sounds" like things are going well! Congratulations on the improved hearing too!

Garth Sheane
11-14-2013, 3:00 PM
Michael, good thoughts and best wishes for a long and delightful retirement. Mine happened 4 1/2 years ago, and it has mostly unfolded the way I thought it would.

Von Bickley
11-14-2013, 3:01 PM
Welcome to the wonderful world of retirement....... I love it.
Best job I ever had......

Fred Maiman
11-14-2013, 3:21 PM
Mr. Weber, what kind of work did you do for a living?

Paul McGaha
11-14-2013, 4:11 PM
Congratulations Michael,

And a great run with your employer.

I'd retire today if I could. Another 10 years or so for me. I'm really looking forward to it and planning on centering my woodworking hobby around it.

PHM

Don Morris
11-14-2013, 5:05 PM
Michael, Congratulations! Retirement for me is great. It seems to be what you make of it for each person. Smart eating habits and exercise remain similarly important regardless of employment condition, and an active mind is helpful too. Taking stock of what your options are takes a little time but with some planning and realistically aligning yourself into what pleases YOU, retirement can be really a blessing. Hope your next years are filled with enjoyment doing whatever you do.

Gordon Eyre
11-14-2013, 6:48 PM
Michael, congratulations on your retirement. It hs been 17 years since I retired after working for 33 years with the same company. I missed many of the friendships I had built up over the years but loved being retired. Nothing has changed during the ensuing years and I love being retired. The pay check just keeps coming in and I can do as I please each and every day. I think my wife had more of an adjustment than I did.

Jim Becker
11-14-2013, 6:52 PM
Congratulations on your retirement!

Rick Potter
11-14-2013, 8:19 PM
Enjoy your well earned retirement, but please note that 'natural peanut butter' doesn't spread too well for older folks.

Rick Potter

Ted Calver
11-14-2013, 10:34 PM
Congratulations Michael. That kind of job is disappearing fast. You were one of the lucky ones I think. Enjoy being busy on your own time:)

Keith Westfall
11-15-2013, 12:41 AM
Good on ya!! Hope you enjoy every day of it.

Oh, did I say I was jealous???

Bill Huber
11-15-2013, 8:32 AM
Congratulations. it is a great time, I retired on June 1st this year and have been having a ball.

I am sure your are thinking you will now have time to do all the things you have wanted to do in the past but didn't have the time. Well forget that, you have a lot more things to do now and it is just working them all in and still having time to work in the shop.

Have fun !!!!!

Michael Weber
11-15-2013, 4:32 PM
Thanks to everyone for your wishes and retirement experience. Had the retirement cake at ten, one last cup of free coffee then out the door. To answer specific comments; I do know how lucky I was. VERY lucky and I never forget it. To the question of where I worked, I was in the R&D dept. of a major HVAC company. I did a wide variety of different things there over the years that kept my interest up but mainly I believe they kept me around because I was good at solving problems. Ken, I'm obviously hearing a lot and it great. It's been three months and while disappointed at not hearing speech better I'm not discouraged. I'll keep at it.

Frederick Skelly
11-15-2013, 6:09 PM
I hope you enjoy every minute of retirement Michael. Congratulations!

Stephen Cherry
11-16-2013, 3:37 PM
I believe they kept me around because I was good at solving problems.

That's a talent that will never go out of style.

Jim Koepke
11-16-2013, 4:43 PM
Congratulations!

Retirement is what you make of it. My 5-1/2 years so far is turning in to the most enjoyable years of my life.

For a few days or so getting up was followed by having to remind myself there was no need to pack a lunch and drive to work.

Now I wonder how I ever found time to hold down a job.

jtk

BobW Robinson
11-16-2013, 7:43 PM
Retirement is great Michael - you should love it. Although I am sure I had more time to myself when I was working. :-)

ed malcom
11-17-2013, 3:14 PM
Michael, congratulations on your retirement. It hs been 17 years since I retired after working for 33 years with the same company. I missed many of the friendships I had built up over the years but loved being retired. Nothing has changed during the ensuing years and I love being retired. The pay check just keeps coming in and I can do as I please each and every day. I think my wife had more of an adjustment than I did.
Congratulations but it doesnt always go good. I have worked in new home building since i was ten and for myself the last forty years. doing interior trim. Im 72 and can still go fairly strong and enjoy it but im forced to retire or else work for virtually nothing. A while back one of the bi ggest builders in the area tried to hire me. He offered me ten cents per square foot less than we were getting thirty years ago plus i had to have insurance. They only paid once a month and held back a month. Not only that but they held back ten percent for a year in case of a callback and they had people who only did callbacks so you you knew you would never get the money. It is not the hispanics that are working for those conditions it is the white druggies. The builders know what they are getting but can only see the bottom line. AM I BITTER YOU BET. There are very few places in this country that are not going through the same thing. Until the buying public starts changeing their attitude for quality and looking at long term it wont change. Thank goodness i dont have to depend on the job. About four times a year i go 1200 miles and do two houses at a time for a builder that has the attitude if i dont pay im going to get crap for work.