Rethinking early retirement

[scaredyclassic]

[quote=flyer]Scaredy, thank you so much for enlightening me. LOL.[/quote]

Never had to eat shit climbing your way up the ladder?

The guy cross the street had to sell his house in less than a year. Pilot. Assume he got covid fucked at work. Stretched too far.

Hes like all of us, same dream, same plan except shitty timing.

[flyer]

Sure, but that brief moment passed rather quickly.

Yeah, it’s sad what’s happening with the airlines now. No one could have seen this coming. Have lots of friends who took early retirements.

I retired from American before 60 thanks to real estate. Another reason to have a “Plan B.”

[scaredyclassic]

Most of us in the USA have to eat huge servings of shit, every day, some right up till the last day of work.

[svelte]

[quote=flyer]
I retired from American before 60 thanks to real estate. Another reason to have a “Plan B.”[/quote]

Well that explains how you’ve done it – pilots make a great living. If you’ve got perfect eyesight and are over 6 feet tall, you’re eligible to attempt a career as a pilot.

I would have never been eligible.

Many of my current and former neighbors are pilots. One of them, an American pilot, rarely ever worked. He always opted for the standby slots and was home almost all the time. Downside: he could never drink because he didn’t know if he’d be called in. Sometimes us neighbors would watch their kids overnight for them (his wife was a nurse). They were great people so we didn’t mind, but he sure made a lot of money for not much work.

[scaredyclassic]

[quote=svelte][quote=flyer]
I retired from American before 60 thanks to real estate. Another reason to have a “Plan B.”[/quote]

Well that explains how you’ve done it – pilots make a great living. If you’ve got perfect eyesight and are over 6 feet tall, you’re eligible to attempt a career as a pilot.

I would have never been eligible.

Many of my current and former neighbors are pilots. One of them, an American pilot, rarely ever worked. He always opted for the standby slots and was home almost all the time. Downside: he could never drink because he didn’t know if he’d be called in. Sometimes us neighbors would watch their kids overnight for them (his wife was a nurse). They were great people so we didn’t mind, but he sure made a lot of money for not much work.[/quote]

Dang unions. Providing flyer a good life. No more of that! Capital supreme, labor eat poo.

Would be better to feel free ones whole life indeed. Ive been so worried about my place in society so long its difficult to imagine not worrying.

Thats perhaps the dream of retirement. That you no longer have to care what the marketplace thinks of you. No more worrying about your performance.. . Youre just a free old weirdo.

But then…thats possible at any moment. Just…stop caring…

[flyer]

[quote=svelte][quote=flyer]
I retired from American before 60 thanks to real estate. Another reason to have a “Plan B.”[/quote]

Well that explains how you’ve done it – pilots make a great living. If you’ve got perfect eyesight and are over 6 feet tall, you’re eligible to attempt a career as a pilot.

I would have never been eligible.

Many of my current and former neighbors are pilots. One of them, an American pilot, rarely ever worked. He always opted for the standby slots and was home almost all the time. Downside: he could never drink because he didn’t know if he’d be called in. Sometimes us neighbors would watch their kids overnight for them (his wife was a nurse). They were great people so we didn’t mind, but he sure made a lot of money for not much work.[/quote]

Other than the fact that I have loved flying since I was a kid, one of the main reasons I chose the profession after college was the reserve system.

As you mentioned with your friends, due to seniority, I bid reserve (standby) for many years, and was rarely called to fly, and still maintained the same income, which allowed lots of time to build the real estate portfolio, etc., spend time with the kids growing up, etc.

Many of the pilots I’ve known have done similar things–invested in franchises, real estate, car dealerships etc.–since it allows you to have another life apart from the job.

I’m grateful to have enjoyed the profession during the more golden years of traveling all over the world (I met my wife when I was flying to Paris from NYC), but wouldn’t recommend it to anyone now. It has devolved over the years, and, especially now, the airlines and their employees are fighting for their lives through no fault of their own. CEO’s met with Meadows in DC this past week, so we’ll see if the possibility of another bailout changes the current bleak scenario.

[svelte]

[quote=scaredyclassic]

Dang unions. Providing flyer a good life. No more of that! Capital supreme, labor eat poo.

[/quote]

Not sure if you’re implying that was what I was implying. Certainly was not. Or maybe that was just your opinion.

I belonged to a union for several years and made considerably more money that my peers doing essentially the same work. Can’t say I miss the union though because it did create a barrier between employees and management. We survived, but I’ve found a much more lucrative career that didn’t require a union.

I’ve known probably fifty pilots through my neighbors, friends, and customers and noticed a trend early on. Besides all having perfect vision (not a pair of glasses among them – even in old age!), almost every one was a former military pilot. Finally, if the person was over 6 feet, he usually had been a fighter pilot then a commercial airline pilot. If the person was under 6 feet, they had been a military helo pilot then changed careers once they left the military. I can’t think of a single exception among the pilots I’ve met to that.

[scaredyclassic]

no. I wasn’t implying anything to anyone. I was just ranting. not eve sure what i was saying. Not sure anyoen knows what they’re saying anymore. Not sure anything means anything anymore.

i think I was being rudely sarcastic, in response to flyer saying, “everyone should live the life they dream of”, after spending a lifetime in a strong union, at the same time period as unions dissolved and were weakened across the country, making the exhortation to lvie your dreams, uncompromised, less possible.

It gave me that young person feeling that boomers like to say pull yourself up by your bootstraps as they pull the ladder up behind them generally sprinkled with a christian I’m blessed/saved edge of righteousness and semi-condescension.

But that’s just me, ultimately, being irritable. better go meditate today.

i apologize.

i think evangelicals and u.s. christians are generally opposed to unions, I’ve been reading. not sure how they got there, but they find support in the bible; striking is somehow stealing, i think, is the argument…so the politcal strength of envandies and union demise go hand in hand.

i really truly am starting to get creeped out by the usa. i know people say it idly, but i would definitely consider leaving if I can find a good plan b…

[svelte]

No need for an apology. Things are truly strange right now.

If it makes you feel any better, I’m still convinced things get a little better, a little fairer all the time though sometimes it doesn’t feel that way.

I’ve been doing a lot of reading in old newspaper (they are archived online now and easy to search) and some of the stuff that happened 100 years ago shocks me when I read it, even though I know from history books that things like that happened. The papers reported them like it was no big deal.

[scaredyclassic]

[quote=svelte]No need for an apology. Things are truly strange right now.

If it makes you feel any better, I’m still convinced things get a little better, a little fairer all the time though sometimes it doesn’t feel that way.

I’ve been doing a lot of reading in old newspaper (they are archived online now and easy to search) and some of the stuff that happened 100 years ago shocks me when I read it, even though I know from history books that things like that happened. The papers reported them like it was no big deal.[/quote]

Cocaine avail. Over the counter. Now…ugh…such a pain to get

[ucodegen]

[quote=scaredyclassic]Warning
Jenny Joseph

When I am an old woman I shall wear purple
With a red hat which doesn’t go, and doesn’t suit me.
.
.
.
But maybe I ought to practise a little now?
So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.[/quote]
Good poem. I always try to practice a little social convention irreverence now and then. Sometimes it may get me in trouble. One has to enjoy life though.

[scaredyclassic]

When we were younger it was me who said awkward things in public but with age its mostly my wife who does it. Ive become fairly normal and shes gotten weirder. Role swap

[Author]

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