The older and grayer I get, the more I get that question. I guess that's only natural. I've been getting the question, in fact, for several years now. I guess that's only natural, too, once people realize you are in the "vicinity" of retirement age.
The fact that I've given up newscasts on WDUN NEWS TALK 550 (like AccessNorthGa.com, a division of Jacobs Media Corp.) in the early mornings after about 30 years has also fueled a number of "are you retiring?" questions. Tony Wike, a veteran radio newsman from North Carolina by way of a long stint in Omaha, Nebraska, now has that job, and the pressures that go with it, such as meeting a deadline every half-hour in the crazy world of morning drive-time radio news. And, I don't miss it, at all, but I'm still here during those early morning hours, although my duties have changed, and week-by-week I'm working just as many hours as I was before.
Speaking of which, if you are at or about my age, did you ever have one of those teachers who marveled at how technological advances would, by the time we were well into our careers, have cut the work week to 35 hours? 35 hours! Did they really say that?
Most of them have probably passed on to that great classroom in the sky by now, but I often wish they could come back and see just how wrong they were on that prediction.
But, back to retirement - or the prospects thereof.
I don't think so. Not anytime soon. What do I mean by soon? I'm not sure. Just not tomorrow or next year or for three or four more, probably. This is still too much fun - even with some of the natural aggravations that come with it (just like any other job).
So, I'm still here and plan to be when I'm 63 and, yes, as the Beatles once sang "When I'm 64."
OTHER FIRST-OF-THE-YEAR MUSINGS:
*How long's it been: Since a group called the Council on Moral Affairs (COMA) raised such a ruckus about Playboy being sold in Hall County that it was pulled from magazine racks and, to my knowledge, is still not sold here.
*Recommended reading: The Innocent Man, John Gresham's first non-fiction book. It's about an Oklahoma man who spent 12 years on death row for a rape/murder he did not comment, coming within days of being executed at one point, before finally being exonerated by DNA.
*Recommended refresher course: College and professional football coaches need to spend one day each week very carefully instructing their players on how not to hold and how not to block in the back. Too many critical gains, sometimes touchdowns, are being nullified by such penalties. I saw two during the last two weeks of December, one resulting in a Falcons touchdown that could have turned the game around being called back.
Happy New Year!
(Ken Stanford is the Newsroom Manager for WDUN NEWS TALK 550, MAJIC 1029, SPORTS RADIO 1240 THE TICKET and AccessNorthGa.com.)
http://accesswdun.com/article/2007/1/97571