ORACLENERD: What a Life...

What a Life...

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Saturday afternoon I had scheduled to go golfing (I'm not a regular golfer) for a friend's bachelor party (believe it or not, no strippers). Saturday morning wifey was sick so I decided to cancel the day of golfing (drinking). For weeks I had also planned on attending the Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI) Tweetup Saturday night. Since wife was sick and there was a second event, dinner, I opted to go see my friend and celebrate with him.

My friend is a former teammate from UF (Go Gators!). Of the 8 people who attended, I was the only one not a high school (or further back) chum.

Anyway, one of his high school friends (and teammate) was a guy who played 12 years in the Big Leagues (MLB). He retired 2 years ago.

Me:
"So, what do you do now?"

Him:
"I chase my kids."

Me:
"Wow"

35 years old and his job is to chase his kids. How sweet is that? He never has to work a day for the rest of his life. I wonder if I had been fortunate (read: talented) enough to play MLB if I could handle doing "nothing" for the rest of my life? I couldn't imagine it now...I work almost non-stop. Either for work or just learning something new. Doing "nothing" would probably drive me nuts.

What about you? Could you retire at 35 or whatever your current age and do nothing?

Labels: life, work

¶ 1/18/2009 10:39:00 PM

Comments:

I'd wonder what you'd do after the kids grow beyond 'chasing'. I could handle a year or so of holiday. But I think I'd need to find a very engrossing hobby after that.

# posted by

Gary Myers : January 19, 2009 at 2:41 AM

I couldn't do nothing forever, but when the boys don't want to be chased, I wouldn't mind writing fulltime.

Still, a few years of chasing the kids would be awesome!

LewisC

# posted by

LewisC : January 19, 2009 at 11:11 AM

@lewisc

It would be fun to chase them around for awhile...but quite honestly, I don't know how my wife does it.

I'm with Gary, fun for awhile, but I'd definitely need a hobby.

# posted by

oraclenerd : January 19, 2009 at 3:57 PM

My son got me a book on CD for my birthday (Benjamin Franklin, The Original American, H.W. Brands).
I listened to it about 20 times.
The professor (Brands) says that Franklin's view of money was basically that we should all make enough to pay the bills and have enough for any emergency and then move on to things that matter even more.
Interestingly (for me), Franklin never really aspired to be wealthy and yet he became the most well-known person (or one of) not just in America, but in the entire British Empire.
I really like Franklin's approach (given that the prof's characterization is true and acccurate).
So for me, I kind of have a "let's get this out of the way" attitude about it even though I'm really having one heck of a hard time "getting it out of the way"...LOL...
Yeah, there's a lot more to do in life than chase a buck and a kid.
As for the kids, I think it's great for them for us to spend as much time as possible with 'em. I also think, at some point, it's great for them to see us doing something for someone other than our own, you know?
So, yeah, take a year or two or five off (whatever you feel like) while you have an eye on doing more (after all chasing the kids around the house is good for them).
Knock it out, Chet. You can do it.

# posted by

Mike : January 21, 2009 at 2:19 PM

Mike,

I like that philosophy.

Part of me is jealous of this guy because he doesn't have to work...he's got more than enough money...he can do whatever he wants. Money in most cases equals freedom. The pursuit of which is OK as long as it doesn't take away from THE most important thing, family.

I agree, we need to spend as much time as possible especially when they're young...because those teenage years come and they'll want nothing to do with us.

chet

# posted by

oraclenerd : January 23, 2009 at 12:12 AM

Glad you like it :-)
Also in the book, the prof says Franklin was still chasing women with he was 75 so if we stick close to Franklin's example we'll have something else to look forward to :-)
Then again, he was estranged from his son who was also his namesake.
Ah the endless nuances and textures of life.
Man...why can't it just be simple?
I guess there's nothing better in life than being a true friend to/of your kids when they're grown and I think one of the best things we can do to ensure that that happens is be a friend to them when they're young: spend time with them, accept them as they are, don't use them as verbal punching bags when we need one, etc.
I'd love to either be able to make enough $$$ so I could be more like this baseball player - or - figure out a way to stop worrying about figuring out a way to make more $$$. LOL...

# posted by

Mike : January 23, 2009 at 9:34 AM