What did you want to talk about today?
Well, I’ve been talking a lot about my working life. Now I’d like to review my retirement.
Okay.
At one point Westinghouse was looking to cut their payroll, so they made an offer to the older — read higher-paid — employees, They told us that, if any of us had enough years with the company, we could take early retirement.
Okay.
If we had at least 30 years with Westinghouse, we could retire at age 58. So I’m thinking, in the year I turn 58, I will have 36 years with the company. So I’m thinking I’ll take them up on the offer.
And you did.
Yep. I let them know several months ahead, so they could get the paperwork rolling.
But you’d retire with less money?
Yes, but I though it would be worth it. My wife and I would have more time together. More vacations. And, to sweeten the pot a little, Westinghouse would pay me a supplement until I reached the Social Security age at 62
Well, that’s good.
I turned 58 in August, so I officially retired September 1st. But there were two big events for me in August. The first was a backyard party planned by my wife.
Friends, relatives, and people from Westinghouse gathered to help me celebrate.
One friend had baked some pastries.
Another brought a cake.
.It was a fun time.
I notice you were wearing your Brooklyn Dodgers shirt.
That’s right. Brooklyn fan forever.
Now here’s the second event. My fellow workers at Westinghouse gave me a retirement dinner.
Remember how I wrote the newsletter for the veteran employees? Did interviews? Took photographs?
Yes.
Well, Ed N., the president, presented me with a certificate of appreciation.
And remember how I had been leader of our Quality Circle. The Miracle Workers?
Right.
We had been compiling a book describing all the services Tech Pubs had to offer. It was getting ready for publication. And at the dinner three of our members — Shawn, Dianne, and Rosemary — gave me a copy of the finished product.
Good timing.
I’ll say.
And there was one other presentation worth noting. Remember the plaque that Engineering Quality Circles gave me? For Quality Person of the Year?
Yes.
I had hung it on my office wall. Which has wood paneling. Well, during the outdoor party my wife let one of our Quality Circles facilitators, Bob W., take the plaque so he could present it to me again. This time before a different audience.
Okay.
And he made a joke out of it. Because it had been on my wooden paneling, Bob attached it to a raggedy piece of plywood, pretending he had ripped away the plaque and some of the paneling too. And he held it up for the audience to see.
Then he presented it to me.
Sounds like you had a good time.
We did.
And then it was my turn. I had a few remarks in mind. I pulled some notes out of my pocket and had some fun of my own. Making comments about different co-workers.
Like what?
Well, let’s see. Dave C., one of our artists, had once told me he would like to train horses after retirement. I gave him a little windup toy. Suggested he try training dogs first.
And Shawn C. She had gone with me to the photography studio and made faces to help me smile for my retirement photo. I gave her a clown mask with a bulb nose. Suggested that maybe she had found a whole new career.
Cute.
Yeah. And there was more. One of our supervisors, Skip B,, was known for putting memos on our desks rather than talking with us directly.
So I poked some fun with him. I told him he was getting better. Recently more face-to-face. We had been sitting near each other at the head table, and I pretended to remember his having handed me a memo while we were eating. I pulled a blank memo sheet out of my pocket and pretended to read it. You know how those memos go. I pretended to read something like this:
“Let’s see. Date, August 26, 1988. From, Skip B.” — I said his actual name — “To, Spence Coleman. Subject, dinner. Okay. Here’s the message down here. Please pass the butter.”
People laughed,, and then I gave him a mock apology and hoped that he somehow got his butter.
How did that go over?
Oh, Skip laughed too. It was all in good fun.
Want another?
Sure.
A few months before, someone had kidded Dianne H., one of our writers, about the state she came from. Claiming it was a backward state. Behind the times. So I kidded her about it. I mentioned the name of the state then, but I’ll leave it out now. Over three decades it’s probably changed a lot. I said something like this:
“I remember someone once said her state is backward. It’s not backward.” Then I paused a bit and said, “Okay, so the state bird is a pterodactyl, but that’s not backward.”
People laughed?
Oh, yeah. Dianne too.
It was an enjoyable event..