Lamar Thames

I frequently get asked how I am enjoying retirement.

I’m usually taken aback by the question because I don’t consider myself retired.  It is true that I don’t have a job, that I am 65, that I receive a Social Security check every month and that I have not gotten a job interview since I was laid off by the Florida Times-Union in November 2008. Still for the life of me, I can’t come to grips with the idea that I am retired. Let’s just say I’m between jobs.

Of course, I really don’t expect anyone to hire me at this stage of my life, especially considering the state of the economy these days. A lot of people who are younger and more educated than I am are in the same situation in that they can’t find jobs either. That makes my chances of returning to the workforce even more unlikely. Still, I persevere.

I currently have applications in for two positions I feel I would like and am qualified to handle. And there are a couple of other potential openings that offer promise. The likelihood is that my retirement status is permanent and that I probably should just learn to accept it. Only I can’t. I still think I can be a productive employee for anyone willing to take a chance. Time will tell.

Shortly after the shock wore off that I had lost the job that I loved so much (editor of My Clay Sun), I thought maybe I could reinvent myself. Learn some new skills, maybe become an entrepreneur.

My first experiment in entrepreneurship was this web site that my son Jeff established for me within two days of my termination. I could just envision the money rolling in when all my family, friends and acquaintances began clicking on the Google ads on the page. I am still waiting, but the web site was a god send at a time that I needed it, giving me a creative outlet for my writing. At least a few of you were interested enough to check it out and I have received two checks within the last nine months, one for $120 and another for $110. Woo woo!

Then I took some on-line courses to learn more about making DVDs and fancied myself as a multi-media specialist. I thought I could go out with my handy-dandy video camera, take a few shots and turn them into award-winning DVDs that I could sell. Again, the money would just start rolling in. Hah! The only profit I made was from a friend who gave me a gift card to a restaurant after I made her a DVD for her father-in-law’s birthday gift, a DVD that I told her was my gift to her. Oh, well. Live and learn.

But I am not completely deterred. I still have hope. My son is helping me develop another web site, this one devoted to one of my favorite topics — travel. The point is to put my writing, editing, photography and video skills together in one site that will draw readers interested in visiting the sites that I will be writing about. The money will just start rolling in, I bet.

You are right, the jury is still out on that issue, but at least the travel web site will fulfill another one of my goals — to be a travel writer. I’ll let you know when the site is up and running. Till then, cest la vive!