Passage

Got my orders today. Effective October 31, I will be unemployed. I have always envied people who retired early, but I don't think I would have ever made the election of my own initiative. The company has made that decision for me and I don't regret it. Four of us have been dealt the same fate - each of us have been offered a Consulting Services Agreement whereby, if available, we would provide services as may be needed by Mark, the last remaining Pathfinder employee. We all went to lunch at Gigi's. Les ordered the second most expensive wine, his last act as comptroller. The halibut with mushrooms special was wonderful. Two more bottles later and rich deserts that we shared around, our designated driver, the human resources rep that delivered our papers, drove us back to the office for strong coffee. We told him this would suffice as our retirement party - there's no one left to attend anyway.

I announced the news to my hunting partners by email. Delores, who relays my emails to Don, characterizes such layoff as being "cut off", which in my case is an accurate representation. I've been enjoying a relaxed work schedule for some time now. Steve gave an invitation to visit in Florida this winter and gave some inspirational suggestions to launch into retirement, including purchasing Golden Age passes for federal park sites and putting some miles on the camper.

May God and good people keep America great.