The First Year: A Retirement Journal

Your reaction to this book will probably depend on where you arein your career life. If you have already retired, you will be inthe amen corner; if you are close to retirement, you will bedrooling with anticipation; and if you like Frost have miles togo before you sleep, you will be green with envy. In "The FirstYear", John Mosedale describes the first year after he retiredfrom being a writer for the CBS evening news. He had loved hiscareer, he says, but he didn't miss it a bit.Written as a series of journal entries, he describes the simplepleasures he experienced. He was able to leisurely peruse the NewYork Times and several other major newspapers. He could take anunhurried walk through the different neighborhoods of Manhattan.He was able to stay up late to watch the last quarter of MondayNight Football, knowing he could sleep in the next day. He couldgo through the shelves of disorganized books in his apartment andbring order to chaos. He could even visit his summer home, acabin on an island in Minnesota, and stay as long as he wanted,instead of the rushed two or three weeks he had been able tospare during his working life. In short, he could do what hewanted when he wanted - a luxury that school teachers experienceduring the summer, at least partially compensating for thefrenzied pace the rest of the year.