The Post-Journal

Remaining Relevant In Retirement

LOCAL COMMENTARIES

JUL 23, 2022

ROLLAND KIDDER

 

 

When people retire, some may think that means you are now free to drift along and do nothing. That, in my opinion, is a recipe for disaster.

The happiest people in retirement I have found are those who still have purpose, want to stay engaged and remain relevant. “Relevant” meaning, in general, still making a difference in life.

When you are young, you don’t even think much about being relevant because everything you do is very relevant. Raising kids, holding down a job, getting an education, paying the bills, fixing up the house — whatever you are doing is immediately relevant. While you are doing all of this, you are probably also involved in the local community, planning for your kids’ future and putting money away for your own eventual retirement.

I know that I might be “preaching” a bit, which may go back to my days in seminary, but that is okay. If you are over the age of 65 and retired, you need to stay engaged.

I remember a woman who volunteered at a nonprofit where I was working. She was in her late 70s and every Tuesday she would come in to volunteer as a docent with a new scarf around her neck and sparkle in her eyes. She wasn’t done with life. She still wanted to give back to the community. Her attitude lifted everyone around her.

Others stay “relevant” by staying involved in what they loved to do before retiring. I remember my Dad and how he loved farming. It was more than a job. Even after my brother took over running the farm, he still stayed involved. He loved being on a tractor mowing hay or feeding the calves morning and night. I remember once when he and my Mom went to Florida to stay for a month. After two weeks he said: “We’re coming home.” When I pushed him about the decision, he finally said: “Well, I miss the cows.” He was involved in the farm nearly to the end of his life.

The passion that some people have for gardening, reminds me of my Dad’s love for farming. Gardening can be a way to remain relevant.

Sometimes your family is what keeps you involved. Though you don’t have children to raise, you may have grandchildren that you can spoil. What better thing is there to do than be worried and involved with them?

And, yes, I’ll admit that I need and seek involvement. Why do I write these articles? It is true that I like to write and stay engaged in the public conversation around here. But, at its heart, I think writing for me is a way to stay relevant, to stay engaged. Which is to say, I expect that you will have to put up with a few more of these articles.

So, if you want to live a long and fruitful life, stay involved. There are only so many rounds of golf you can play, only so many trips you can go on, only so many excursions to the mall or shopping center to be made. After that, you will still want to make a difference, to have a reason to get up in the morning.

Staying relevant, staying involved is a good recipe for retirement!

 

 

The Post-Journal

Ukraine And The Coming Winter

LOCAL COMMENTARIES

JUL 16, 2022

ROLLAND KIDDER

 In a plea for more weapons of defense, the President of Ukraine recently expressed hopes that his country’s war against Russian aggression could end by winter.

To my mind, he was expressing more than a hope for an end to the war. He was expressing the reality of what winter will bring — the need for heat.

Think about what would happen in this community if it were announced that this coming winter there would be little or no natural gas available. Most homes here heat with natural gas and there would be panic as to how we could heat our homes without it. With Russian gas being reduced and potentially shut-off, that is the reality that Europe is faced with. Natural gas prices have more than doubled here and overseas, but in Europe it is more than a pricing problem — gas may not even be available.

Some might say: “Well, shift to propane. It is usually a bit more expensive but it would give us heat just like natural gas.” That sounds good but the reality is that you would have to change the burner tips in your furnace, water heater and all other natural gas appliances since propane burns hotter than natural gas. Besides, propane (Liquified Petroleum Gas–LPG) is an oil derivative so it has its own problems with supply and demand pricing…think of what it has recently cost you to fill up your car with gasoline.

What about shifting to electric heat? That might be an option in places like Jamestown or Mayville which get a majority of their electricity from the hydro plant at Niagara. But, the rest of us would have to purchase more electricity from the grid which already has close to 40% of its production coming from natural gas.

Sometimes these “details” about energy get lost in the political shuffle. Will more electricity come from renewable sources in the future? Yes, but that doesn’t help anyone who wants to heat their house this winter.

The United States has made representations that it will supply more liquified natural gas (LNG) to Europe to help wean them off Russian supplies. Yet, LNG is much more difficult to liquify and transport than LPG and countries receiving LNG must also have the necessary infrastructure to deliquefy it. In addition, our promising to sell more of it could well be a hollow promise since we don’t have enough plants now to meet added demand for it. To complicate things, recently, one of the major LNG plants in our country failed and shut down, thus cutting the availability of a significant amount of it for shipment.

Of course, New York state doesn’t help in any of this. We are big consumers of natural gas but have effectively banned the exploration and development of it in our state. How does that work?

And, how does all of this play out in the politics of Europe? There is a lot of support now for Ukraine but will it hold up when people’s homes start to get cold?

I think that is what the President of Ukraine was getting at. Russia has been the biggest supplier of natural gas to Europe, and Putin is now playing hardball, threatening to shut down his gas pipelines. If you had to choose between heating your house and supporting Ukraine, which would you choose? Winter is coming.

 

 

Summer’s Great Thanksgiving

“Summer’s Great Thanksgiving”

It sort of hit me this year on the 4^th of July that the holiday reminds me a lot of Thanksgiving.  I think you could call it “Summer’s Great Thanksgiving.”

Like Thanksgiving, it has become a big family event.   We didn’t have many of our kids home this year, as they were gathering with their families in other places.   Once your kids marry, you have to accept the fact that you have to share their time with the “in-laws.”  Such is life, but it is a good thing.  On the Fourth of July, people block out time to be with family—even if that means that they may not be coming to your house.

Of course, the holiday day really started in 1776 with the signing of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia, and it has ever since been a big day for the country.   When you try to describe our country, I have always felt that the words on the Great Seal of the United States say it best:  E pluribus unum,—“Out of many, one.”

E pluribus unum,—“Out of many, one.”

Admittedly, we have been living through a time more focused on the “out of many” side of the equation—people going in different directions, disagreeing, sometimes disliking each other.  But, the Fourth of July reminds us that we are still “one.”  Old Glory flies up there with its 50 stars and 13 stripes reminding us that we remain one people.

There were still some political flags flying from flag poles and boat masts this year, but they were fewer.  The American flag was the prominent symbol being seen and flown. 

There are probably reasons for this.  Political rhetoric is down and genuine concern is up.  With inflation up, the stock market down and the war in Ukraine going on—it has brought us back at bit to the reality that “we are all in this together.”  Life is not just a “hop-skip-and-a-jump” from one euphoric high to another.  Mankind still struggles to get along.  There are bad forces in the world that need to be confronted, and we need each other to deal with such things.

On the 4^th, friends of ours sent us a “hurry-up” video of their brood gathering for a family photo.  There were people of all ages, sizes, and backgrounds running around setting up benches and chairs, then smiling for the photo followed by the dismantling of the scene.  It was a hoot to watch!  It also sent a message visually (not in writing) about what a great day they had getting together as a family.

THE GREAT JHS CLASS OF '81 RECONNECTING ON THE LAKE ON JULY 4TH

Earlier in the weekend, one of our kids came back to be with friends to attend their high school reunion.  Talk about political diversity in the group—it ran from bright blue to deep red—the whole gamut.  Jokes were even made about that at one of the reunion events.  Fortunately, these are friendships never to be broken.  Out of many, one—is still the mantra for this now decades-old high school class.

Yes, there is, has been and will continue to be division in our body politic.  But, as with families or old high school friends, we can rise above our differences or divisions.   The message on the Great Seal still holds.  E pluribus unum.  It is what makes us strong and resilient.  It also makes for Thanksgiving in the summer!

Rolly Kidder