“If the first act of life is mostly about education and youthful exuberance, and the second act mostly about career and family, the third act of life is about the pursuit of wisdom, self-actualization, and leaving some kind of legacy…”

An engineer, more than 40 winters at the coalface, I retired from my career a few days ago. As these things go I’ve had a good run. Actually a great run. I’ve seen more than most, done more than most, and traveled this world like a bug on an orange. I feel fortunate to exit at 62 with my health and a bit of sanity remaining.

“What’s next?” is a fair question and one for which I don’t have a ready answer. We’ve made no plans to travel, I’ve toured enough of the world for two lifetimes. Besides, my wife, who is two years younger than me, wants to keep working a little longer so I guess our calendar will now revolve around her schedule instead of mine.

There are endless tasks and long ‘to-do’ lists of things that require attention whether I am working or retired. Home ownership is nearly as large an anchor around one’s neck as a busy career and I can’t imagine a time when there won’t be something that needs doing to the house or yard.

I plan to resume writing. I used to pad my living generously with freelance work and am just silly enough to believe I may have a few more stories to tell and who knows, maybe even the Great American Novel to complete.

As an active radio amateur these last 45 years I’ve often imagined the day when I would join the ranks of retired radiomen with their copious amounts of free time for the hobby. But many who have gone before me say they are busier now than before they retired and there isn’t much spare time to be found.

I hope to dispel that myth or expire trying.

At this particular moment I can’t describe with any certainty how being retired will impact my approach to the hobby, but there’s bound to be adjustments to its glide path. Having reached this milestone I feel a bit more urgency to complete certain things that in the grand scheme of life don’t amount to a hill of beans, but that are important to my perception of myself as a ham radio aficionado.

I guess it comes down to this, I’m finished working for a living and have commenced the third and final act of my story. And as it has for nearly my entire lifetime, amateur radio will doubtless feature prominently.