About a decade ago there was a movie about a robot that began to take on human like qualities. For the life of me I can't remember the movie title. It starred Ally Sheady. The robot named "No. 5" had an insatiable appetite for knowledge so his cry was "more input, more input". He could read a book in 10 seconds. He could digest a dictionary in less than a minute. The more he read, the more he needed "more input".
So in my quest for more input, I signed up for a night course at Fox Valley Technical College. It is titled "Retirement Planning Today". It meets over several weeks, 3 hours at a time.
The first subject matter is "determine the amount of money you need to retire". Come to think of it, for me it is a little late to broach that subject. So why am I going?
The second issue discussed is "create your own goals for a successful retirement". I guess it is never too late to set goals even though I am in the 7th year of retirement.
Then they hit "eliminate debt and improve cash flow". How does a person like myself on a limited income (actually decreasing income) find enough money to reduce debt and improve cash flow?
You get the idea. Lots of financial advice but I'm not sure how applicable it is to your mother and I.
So why am I doing this? I need more input. I know a little about planning for retirement but the tax laws keep changing, health insurance rules are in constant flux and social security has it's little quirks. So what I receive is updated information on all of those subjects to put in my personal memory bank.
Usually I have some primary objective and this is no exeption. I want to find out details about "long term care" insurance. People are living longer because they can put together medicine cocktails that keep you breathing until you are 80, 90, or 100. You can buy long term care insurance that covers the cost of nursing homes in later life. I don't have that type of insurance. I'm not sure I can afford it! I'm not sure I want it? The cost of the course may be worth the information I get.
I contemplate what my life would be like if my kids would "take me in" when I get totally senile. I'm sure that Debs would modify her life to take care of me (yeah, right). Kelly would probably move to Peru to avoid taking me in. Chris would make "his old man" cut the lawn to pay his way. Paul would prop me in a corner and propose a toast. And Margaret would take a picture of a senile old man, post it on the internet and let the world see how pathetic I was! No sir, I want to control my own journey into senility. Stay tuned! I'll keep you posted.
So here I go. My personal growth continues.
Love,
Dad
That movie you spoke of was called "Short Circuit". Great movie.