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I am 70 years old and have been fully retired for 7 years.
I do anything I feel like doing and don't do anything I don't feel like doing.
I live in Canada for 5 months in the summer and 7 months in Mexico in the winter..
I do some volunteer work, a couple of days a month, at a food bank here in Mexico. I help friends here who need guidance in dealing with Mexican beurocracy (SP?).
I go to bed when I feel like it and I wake up when I feel like it (except when my bladder says I better get up soon!!! LOL)
I love playing around with CorelDraw...BUT I really want to learn how to create lifelike animations that I see on TV ads. (Like the Geico gheko) 20 years ago I used to play around with animated GIF's and they were fun to do...But I need more.
What do other retired signmakers do?
ARE there any other fully retired signmakers?
Or do true signmakers ever fully retire?
-------------------- Dave Grundy retired in Chelem,Yucatan,Mexico/Hensall,Ontario,Canada 1-519-262-3651 Canada 011-52-1-999-102-2923 Mexico cell 1-226-785-8957 Canada/Mexico home
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remodel bathrooms............and make doctor appointments)))))
[ October 23, 2014, 12:45 AM: Message edited by: old paint ]
-------------------- joe pribish-A SIGN MINT 2811 longleaf Dr. pensacola, fl 32526 850-637-1519 BEWARE THE TRUTH.....YOU MAY NOT LIKE WHAT YOU FIND Posts: 11582 | From: pensacola, fl. usa | Registered: Nov 1998
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-------------------- Bill'n'Annie Davidson Heathcote, NSW, Aus. my Aussie wife, a Toohey's Old, my Holden Ute, Retired from the rat race! Posts: 309 | From: Heathcote, NSW, Australia | Registered: Nov 1998
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I retired, then one day I answered the telephone, so now I make neon for Krispy Kreme HOT NOW signs. Oh well, it helps pay the bills, keeps me off the streets and out of the Gin Mills. I may die doing it, but I enjoy it, especially the money. Peace, Don
-------------------- Donald Miner ABCO Wholesale Neon 1168 Red Hill Creek Dobson, NC Posts: 842 | From: North Carolina | Registered: Apr 2006
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I paint landscapes and meet interesting people who come in to admire the paintings up here on Canyon Road. Much more fun than calling on cardogs to get them to paint their showroom windows. No ladders and pinon wood fireplace aromas!
-------------------- Preston McCall 112 Rim Road Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501 text: 5056607370 Posts: 1552 | From: Santa Fe, New Mexico | Registered: Nov 1998
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I was thinking EXACTLY what Dave said, I'm thinking, when I retire, that I can make something funky out of that shiny black cottage cheese that you find the second time you open a can of No-shot black ..........
-------------------- Rodger MacMunn T.R. MacMunn & Sons C.P.207, Sharbot Lake, ON 613-279-1230 trmac@frontenac.net Posts: 472 | From: Sharbot Lake, Ontario | Registered: Nov 2003
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I'm a bit like Dave. I pretty much work when I want, and work on what I want to work on.
I have people come to me all the time to do cheapo stuff, and I send them down the road. I want to concentrate on the more crafty and challenging jobs.....fewer and farther between, but more funner and rewarding.
I'm also a city council member in our town, am on the building and grounds committee at our church, and do plastic welding jobs on the side.
I've known too many people over the years, that died within a year of retirement, because they got a rocking chair and became a couch potato. I prefer to stay active.
-------------------- Dale Feicke Grafix 714 East St. Mendenhall, MS 39114
"I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me." Posts: 2963 | From: Mendenhall, MS | Registered: Apr 1999
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Dale...We had friends who waited until age 65 (when their Canadian gov't pension money kicked in) One died with his first cheque still sitting in the mailbox, another got to spend his first cheque and then died.
I was ready to retire when I was 60, not because I was old, not because I hated my job (I LOVED the sign business), not because business was bad, but because I was just tired of freezing my butt off during the winter in Canada.
I spent several years planning the whole retirement thing and trying to convince Shirley that it was doable. It took until age 63 for me to finally convince her. And it was probably good that I did wait until age 63, a few more years to build up savings and equity.
If I had retired and just vegetated in Canada, I would probably be dead by now too.
But spending 7 months of the year in Mexico keeps me young and active. Just doing regular house maintenance is a "job" in itself. All our Ex-pat friends from age 60 to 80 are "young and active" and we all tend to keep each other the same way. Heck, a simple thing like getting our car's licence plates renewed is an all day job when you are dealing with an unfamiliar and confusing system!
If I had had the privelidge of living in a southern US State where the winter was tolerable, I might still be working in the business. But after 7 years I am happy with the decision I made.
[ October 26, 2014, 05:34 PM: Message edited by: Dave Grundy ]
-------------------- Dave Grundy retired in Chelem,Yucatan,Mexico/Hensall,Ontario,Canada 1-519-262-3651 Canada 011-52-1-999-102-2923 Mexico cell 1-226-785-8957 Canada/Mexico home
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I retired back when I was 23. That's when I decided it was time to do exactly what I loved and NOT do what I didn't want to. I still go into the shop daily but it's in my back yard.
Best of all I get paid every day to do what I am passionate about. Ten employees (whom I love like my own kids) help me out daily and in fact do all the hard stuff.
Two times a year people come from all over the world to our workshops and I get to share all I've learned through the years, making sure the knowledge I've managed to accumulate doesn't die with me.
My clients (two or three each year) pay for me to travel to some pretty cool places (This year Florida and Trinidad)
I'm surrounded by family on a daily basis and live in a most beautiful part of the world. Winters here are pretty mild and on the days it does rain I have a big wonderfully equipped shop to play in.
Although as I get older I would like the pace to slow down some I don't want to quit the dream I live daily. With my son Peter now fully involved in the business I will eventually slowly back away from total involvement.
Like Dave's version of retirement, mine didn't come by chance. It was the result of many,daily, small choices that added up to what we enjoy today.
It sure beats working for a living!
-grampa dan
-------------------- Dan Sawatzky Imagination Corporation Yarrow, British Columbia dan@imaginationcorporation.com http://www.imaginationcorporation.com
Being a grampa is one of the the most wonderful things in the world!!! Posts: 8738 | From: Yarrow, B.C. Canada | Registered: Nov 1998
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Dan...I think that most folks here would agree that you didn't get to the point in your life nor in business without a whole lot of thought, planning and talent.
You are probably living everyone's dream!
Congratulations.
The word "retirement" brings to mind different images to everyone. Each of us has a different "version". Thank you for noticing and mentioning that fact.
Hoping that we can meet again next summer at a walldog meet. It's been a couple of years.
(BTW....You do live in one of the most wonderful areas of Canada. I still consider Chilliwack my "hometown")
-------------------- Dave Grundy retired in Chelem,Yucatan,Mexico/Hensall,Ontario,Canada 1-519-262-3651 Canada 011-52-1-999-102-2923 Mexico cell 1-226-785-8957 Canada/Mexico home
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I've been semi-retired for the last 3 years...we love nature and one of the things we enjoy is going kayaking with friends...we go about once a week from spring through fall...we have 10 kayaks and try to fill as many as we can when we go...we filled 6 on yesterday's 3 hour float...here are some pics from yesterday.
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That looks like a great form of retirement Rusty. Wonderful scenery!
-grampa dan
-------------------- Dan Sawatzky Imagination Corporation Yarrow, British Columbia dan@imaginationcorporation.com http://www.imaginationcorporation.com
Being a grampa is one of the the most wonderful things in the world!!! Posts: 8738 | From: Yarrow, B.C. Canada | Registered: Nov 1998
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Looks like I'm going to be in the group that keeps making signs, just not on a full time basis. I'm actually in my wife's 2nd year of our 4 year plan to sell off our properties here in Michigan and move to Texas. Last year's brutal winter was the last straw for me, and I'm tired of seeing my grand kids once a year and watching them grow up on facebook. So right now I'm learning web site design and getting ready to make web sites for several products that I can produce on my cnc router and sell world wide. Some are sign related, some are not. I don't want to retire completely. I feel like Dan, this 3D stuff is just too much fun to stop doing all together.
-------------------- Dave Sherby "Sandman" SherWood Sign & Graphic Design Crystal Falls, MI 49920 906-875-6201 sherwoodsign@sbcglobal.net Posts: 5397 | From: Crystal Falls, MI USA | Registered: Apr 1999
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Now I get to use my tools to build things like 3D signs and, more recently, CNC machines. At home I tinker around with raising sheep and selling them to Middle Eastern customers. But I don't intend to ever stop "working".
-------------------- Wayne Webb Webb Signworks Chipley, FL 850.638.9329 wayne@webbsignworks.com Posts: 7403 | From: Chipley,Florida,United States | Registered: Oct 1999
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RUSTY HAS FRIENDS....and a female one to boot???? i am impressed)))))HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA gotcha rusty...
-------------------- joe pribish-A SIGN MINT 2811 longleaf Dr. pensacola, fl 32526 850-637-1519 BEWARE THE TRUTH.....YOU MAY NOT LIKE WHAT YOU FIND Posts: 11582 | From: pensacola, fl. usa | Registered: Nov 1998
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Joe...at least I take my lady on enjoyable float trips down a beautiful and pristine rivers to commune with the wonders of nature...while you put your lady to work tearing out your bathroom floor.
posted
I am just gonna go pop some popcorn and wait for the next post...
Let me know if I missed something while I was away!!!
-------------------- Dave Grundy retired in Chelem,Yucatan,Mexico/Hensall,Ontario,Canada 1-519-262-3651 Canada 011-52-1-999-102-2923 Mexico cell 1-226-785-8957 Canada/Mexico home
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i live right down the road from BLACKWATER & PERDIDO rivers. got 1 12' kayak sittin in the yard))). wife has a sister lives in chatanooga, and they all(4 sisters)did the natahala & ocoee couple times.....been to some of the most pristine waterways......google ALAGASH WATERWAY. and i hand fished salmon on the Miramichi River in new brunswick............
-------------------- joe pribish-A SIGN MINT 2811 longleaf Dr. pensacola, fl 32526 850-637-1519 BEWARE THE TRUTH.....YOU MAY NOT LIKE WHAT YOU FIND Posts: 11582 | From: pensacola, fl. usa | Registered: Nov 1998
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Some summer pics from floating on the Buffalo...a beautiful experience...mind and body...I tell my friends that when I die I want to be laid in my kayak and set adrift to float down river...they can leave my life preserver off.
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VERY NICE, RUSTY !...........Back in 1989/1990, when I lived in Murfreesboro, with my son, I used to take him boating to J Percy Priest Lake, between Smyrna and Lavergne, during the weekends, and spend the whole day in the lake with him.......Bought him a canoe, with a flat transom, and a small electric outboard motor, to go with it.......Those were, really, fun days for both of us.
He was 5 to 6 years old, then.......Now, he will be 31, in February 2015 and , still, remembers those beautiful moments.
posted
i retired not by choice, but by STROKE.... i really would have liked to work til was 80 ! I am doing pretty well, but miss the shop and almost all of the customers.Now 76. i took some lessons in acrylic painting, in an apartment and had to get rid of oils ( which I enjoyed ) because of the long lasting odors. I am now painting with my left hand, and the little bit I have done, looks a bit looser tha my previous work!
one word of advice to those under 100, put a bit away for retirement ( I did not, my bad ) it gets here so damn much quicker than you could ever imagine.
-------------------- Tom Rose 1938 Model Sign Dude T.Rose Signs Whitehall,PA Posts: 327 | From: Whitehall,PA,USA | Registered: Feb 1999
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Tom...so sorry to hear about the circumstances that forced your early retirement...but glad to hear you're doing well...when you said you are painting now with the left hand what are you painting?...is it signwork or in more of a fine art area?
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Ricardo...I'll bet the Stone's River up in Murfreesboro Tn. would make a nice float trip...it's only about 1.5 hours away...do you remember anything about it.
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Rusty, I am sure it would have been a great float..........But I never went that far, to the South end of Percy Priest, to the Stones River ( East or West ).
Percy Priest is so large that we would, generally, stay within the lake, close to the marina ( Fate Sanders Marina ).....With occasional stops at some of the small inner isles, of the lake.....Most of the time, close to the marina, from where we sailed. Mainly because we spent most of the time, in the water, fishing.
We had lots of fun, without the need to go too far South.........Remember, I was alone with my 6 year old son, then.....So, I didn't like to get too far away from the marina and take unnecessary chances, while I was with him........Probably, because once, during one of our canoeing days, we had a very brief "encounter" with a black bear. We saw the bear, from a very safe distance, on one of the isles of the reservoir.........That was good enough for me.....So, from that day on, I decided to have fun within the safest areas of the lake, which, of course did not include getting off the canoe to walk, with a 6 year old child, on unknown territory.
But, like I said, we both had lots of very safe fun.
I love Tennessee......I think I mentioned it, to you, before.......I went to high school at Castle Heights Military Academy, in Lebanon, and because of one of those turns that you take, in life, I end up being relocated, with my son, to work in Murfreesboro, July 1st, 1989........Very close to Lebanon......We lived there, almost two years, before we moved to Orlando, Fla.
I am doing left handed landscapes...I guess it could be called fine art , but that might be a stretch ...... I really think the wrong hand approach might really loosen me up a lot, Most of what I did in the past was kind of photo realistic drag race art. But I don't think it's possible to compete with MILLIONS of digital images. ( some of which are actually great )
No real beef with possible recovery process. Especially when I see so many in therapy way the hell worse off than I am !
-------------------- Tom Rose 1938 Model Sign Dude T.Rose Signs Whitehall,PA Posts: 327 | From: Whitehall,PA,USA | Registered: Feb 1999
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Hey Tom, Have you any use of your right hand, or is it still a work in progress? I had a stroke about 3 years ago, lost most of the use of my right hand/arm; but with therapy and exercises, I've gotten most of it back. I started lettering left-handed; but am doing fine back to the right hand again. But, if you're happy as a lefty, go for it.
I still am not able to pinstripe very well (yet); but I'm shooting to get that back too. I have a good friend who had a stroke about a year ago. He was told by "whoever" that what you don't get back in a year, you'll never get back. Not true at all! I'm still getting stuff back; it's just baby steps now.....the major things do usually come more early-on.
I hope you're staying up with the therapy/exercises and that you continue to get better and better. You take care!
posted
I have also found, as an old sign Painter, I dream of the smell of turps and the fear I feel when working off a plank 12 feet in the air!
I had to give it up just before 70, shoulders, rotator cuff ops both sides within a year of one another. Lifting all that stock onto a router table takes it's toll. My L5 looks like a broken off 2 x 2!
-------------------- Bill'n'Annie Davidson Heathcote, NSW, Aus. my Aussie wife, a Toohey's Old, my Holden Ute, Retired from the rat race! Posts: 309 | From: Heathcote, NSW, Australia | Registered: Nov 1998
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i think roger should start another post...... STRANGEST PLACES YOU EVER GOT LAID)))))))
-------------------- joe pribish-A SIGN MINT 2811 longleaf Dr. pensacola, fl 32526 850-637-1519 BEWARE THE TRUTH.....YOU MAY NOT LIKE WHAT YOU FIND Posts: 11582 | From: pensacola, fl. usa | Registered: Nov 1998
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well........there was this gal...................liked the way i swung my brush)))))))hahahahahahahahaha
-------------------- joe pribish-A SIGN MINT 2811 longleaf Dr. pensacola, fl 32526 850-637-1519 BEWARE THE TRUTH.....YOU MAY NOT LIKE WHAT YOU FIND Posts: 11582 | From: pensacola, fl. usa | Registered: Nov 1998
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The kayak can't be any worse than a 1959 VW . 6-volt system....the dome light was so dim that if you had one too many & forgot who she was, turning it on for a couple of seconds didn't narrow it down much.
Come on Si ..... I KNOW you have a tale or two......
-------------------- Rodger MacMunn T.R. MacMunn & Sons C.P.207, Sharbot Lake, ON 613-279-1230 trmac@frontenac.net Posts: 472 | From: Sharbot Lake, Ontario | Registered: Nov 2003
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