Retirement Life By James Goss      I had always wondered what retirement life would be like. I was reluctant to retire at such an early age (53) because I had heard stories that made me tremble with anxiety about the subject. Stories like “I almost went crazy with nothing to do”, or “I had to go back to work before I lost my mind”. For some people this may very well be true, but in my case I am happy to say that after a year of retirement I see no signs of this retirement syndrome that so many had told me about. My profession was an Electronics professor for 33 years at Central Alabama Community College. I didn't retire because I disliked my job by any means. I always loved teaching students and seeing them go to work in their field of study was always very rewarding. It was financially feasible at this time to go ahead and retire so I decided to take the plunge.     Of course I had some sad feelings when I vacated the job I had been going to for 33 years. It was compatible to loosing a close friend or relative. Oddly enough this feeling only lasted about five minutes and I was ready to start my new life as a man without a job. What was it going to be like getting up each morning and not having to be somewhere at a specific time? I could do what I wanted to do and when I wanted to do it. I didn't know if I could handle this new life style or not, but I was sure glad that I had the opportunity to try it. Actually I haven't missed going to work at all and it is strange that I hardly ever think about my old job. I figured I would be thinking about it every day and dreaming about my profession every night. Even though I enjoyed my job very much I guess I have mentally blocked any residue of that era and am now thinking only about the future.      My wife Mary has been a house mom for the last 30 years and has to adjust to my new schedule also. It really doesn't seem fair because I have gotten to retire and Mary still does the same job she has always done. By and large she is happy with the situation here at home and plans on us having a nice long retirement together. I have not been one to travel over the years other than business related trips and I don't plan to start now. One of the first questions people ask when they find out I am retired is “What places are you going to visit while you are retired”? I guess some people think retirement automatically means traveling. I don't have any plans to travel anywhere that I know of other than visiting my close family members. Of course I will be going to RC related events because this is now one of my main interest.      Having a good hobby such as RC will keep me occupied for years down the road. I like nothing better than to build and fly radio controlled airplanes. This hobby has captivated me for the last 30 years or so and its fascination never ceases to amaze me. There is always something new to build and try out at the field. There is nothing more exciting for me than to test fly a new plane for its first time, especially a new design. Most will fly ok but every now and again one will crash on the first flight and we go right back to the building board and start all over again. Crashes are unavoidable at times and sooner or later if you fly on a regular basis you are going to have a hard landing (crash). Modelers that have been in the hobby for any length of time have learned to except this and just pick up the pieces and keep on going.      By and large I can't see any disadvantages for retirement life as long as you have your finances in order. Here is something that is puzzling to me. I do not seem to have as much free time in the day as I did before I retired. I have heard others also make this statement before I retired and I thought, “What could they be talking about”? Well now I am there and I can see that it is indeed a true statement. Being retired makes it easy to get new projects started so you go into what I call overload. Projects here are in reference not only to models, but also those projects around the house and anything else that you are involved with. So it doesn't take long to get too many irons in the fire. To answer the question, “How do I like retirement life” is easy. If I had known how nice retirement really is I would have retired at the beginning of my work career instead of the end. If you are wondering about having anything to do when you retire and you are a modeler, you haven't got anything to worry about because you are going to love it. The Beginnin