At one time it didn't matter, but now it's everything in moderation, even moderation itself. I pretty much do everything I ever did, only these days it's in smaller doses. I keep to 10 to 12 gigs a month - that's my comfort level at the moment. Luckily, I have always, and still do, enjoyed good health. I know that's a different scenario for you, but somewhere there's a comfort level that works for you. I wish you the very best in whatever you decide.

Were you an MD, Gary? There's more burnout in that game than just about any other.

My 2 cents worth..............I've been blessed, my wife and I were able to take an early retirement without any financial worries, she retired at 60, myself at 62 in December 2013. I loved my work as MIS manager of a 3 office law firm in the Boston area...........and that was the problem the "BOSTON AREA" traffic jams and long commutes, not the work I did. If the headquarters had stayed in the suburbs of Boston where I was originally hired to work I would without a doubt still be working, I went from a 35 minute commute to one that was 90 minutes each way......... 3 hours on the road daily, did it for 2 years and that was enough.........and if there was an accident or snow during the commute it could become 3 hours ONE WAY.

With that said Gary, I was a mirserable the first 60 days of retirement, I still have days I wish I had to show up at the office. How to handle not working after being in the workforce for 48 years? The first few weeks I got up at the usual 5 AM and just couldn't stay home so I went to the gym for a workout. March we went on the road for 5 weeks to sunny Florida, that was a fun break. Then came the arranger jam you and Carol hosted in July............nice no worries about taking time out of work to come to the jam.

I'm taking this year as an adjustment year, I play a few gigs here and there but I need to get my butt in gear and do some marketing. Meanwhile just to keep the brain active I studied material to earn an amateur radio license and passed both the Tech and General license exams on the same day, I'm a photography nut as well that fills the time too. Now that the weather has been great my wife and I speed walk 5 miles per day 6 days per week and the fringe benefit is we both dropped some unwanted pounds since starting the walking program in early June. This coming December 28th we'll take the drive with our 2 dogs to central Florida where we will stay until Apirl 30th then head back north.

Bottom line after all my BS about what I'm doing retired the satisfaction for me comes rom doing something productive. If I were half as busy a musician as you are that would top things off nicely........but at times I'm just a wanna be that's gets frustrated not playing more gigs. Has a tendency to pi$$ me off since after putting down the sauce 30 years ago I've had 2 successful careers one in sales for a Fortune 500 company, then leaving the job with a buyout/retirement program, going back for a degree in computer and network servicing technology and working that for 15 years.

Knowing what I know of you Gary, you'll have to continue entertaining even if it's only an occasional gig. END OF STORY

Gary I quit brick 13 1/2 years ago. I don't have anything to say, but don't kill yourself hauling music gear around. There's life after music. Get an English Bulldog puppy, that will keep ya busy and you'll love it like your kids, and it won't kill ya friend. Watch Gunsmoke and all of the westerns on YouTube. Get a football team to follow. Like the Saints, not the Eagles they will just wear ya down mentally and might kill ya. Ain't that right Dave? Donny? Man this was fun again getting Dave, oh! and Donny too.

I have really cut back a lot during the past two years. I went from 440 jobs a year to 250, which for me is a huge cutback. Steve, as you saw when you were here, I have a fairly large piece of land to take care of. I have 7 rock gardens, all of which need maintenance, 2.5 acres of lawn to cut every 5 to 8 days, plus that 33-foot Morgan sailboat that needs constant maintenance in order to sail. So, I will still have lots of things to keep me busy.

My biggest concern right now is my health issues, which are insurmountable. There is no cure for asbestosis - IT WILL KILL ME! I WILL slowly, but surely suffocate to death. My best hope is that a massive heart attack gets me first, but I doubt that I'll be that fortunate.

As Donny keeps saying "Live every day as if it were your last." Well, that last day is coming a lot faster than I was hoping for. Of course, things like that are real easy to say, but in reality, you cannot live that way. You still have to plan ahead for many, many things, including death.

I would love to continue performing at the level I currently enjoy, but from my medical background in Cardio-Pulmonary medicine I know that cannot happen for very long. Tonight, I did a happy hour at an assisted living facility in Towson, MD. I've been doing this job for about 8 years, the audience loves me, and lots of visitors come on the nights I perform. Everyone always want to know the date when I will return so they can mark it on their calendars. Tonight, while unloading the gear from the van, I began to feel a bit lightheaded. I carry a pulse-oximeter with me all the time and checked my oxygen saturation - it was down to 89. I sat down in van, turned on the AC, and did some special breathing techniques to increase the oxygen saturation. After about 5 minutes, I was able to continue to push the equipment into the building and set up. However, at this point, there are some songs I can no longer perform because of the structure of the song, songs where you must carry long notes. I no longer have the lung capacity for them. This is what I'm facing.

Overall, as I said in a previous post, it has been one Hell of a ride. I've done things in this life that many people on dream of doing. As Carol always says, our marriage has been anything but boring.

Next year, I will probably cut out a dozen more locations, and only do those within 20 minutes drive time of my home. However, that will still be at least 15 locations, which translates to 180 jobs a year. Come October 2015, I will make the decision of where to go after that.

Cheers,

Gary

Hi Gary:

I've heard all the good points about "retirement" from the others and unless you are prepared for it... there are adjustments required. Your health should come first but unless you feel that you are at risk if you continue, I would advise taking it in small steps. The interaction with those who appreciate what you do plus the income derived are both important factors is easing you into "the life of ease."

If your wife is not prepared to have you underfoot for 24/7 the strain may be difficult for her to manage... as well as you. I hope you have a ton of interests and hobbies (hopefully not too strenuous unless your condition is "up to it.!")

Most importantly, the monetary reserves and/or investments must be considered very carefully. If a steady income cannot be supported from investments, rental properties or other means... hopefully, you are personally wealthy... then that is the greatest hill to climb in retiring. Adjusting to a fixed income from social security and hopefully, a 401k or other retirment vehicle... may require many changes in your lifestyle.

I have been one of the lucky ones in that regard but the adaptation from "full speed ahead" to "full stop" or anything in between can require an attitude adjustment of stringent proportions. Just the change from your daily routine can be a large hurdle to overcome.

It isn't all bad with proper planning. Thank God I play golf and chess and still create songs. Without them and the support of an understanding soulmate... I'd be in "Bonkersville!"

Don't rush into this. Take your time if possible. If you have questions or concerns, send me a PM and I'll do my best to fill in the gaps to make the transition easier.

My work, back in the day, was exciting and at a break-neck speed. The responsibility for a large staff and the constant travel were tough enough to balance... then full stop. Not an easy transition but I have muddled through. You can too.

All my best,

Dave

Gary yes your property will keep you busy, just going up and down the hill is enough to keep you busy! Sorry to hear of your ongoing issues, but you certainly know how to make the best of a not so good situation!

Dave, sitting around and doing absolutely nothing would put me in a rubber room in about three days. I know folks that did this, and for the most part, they didn't live very long. I go absolutely nuts when we get a heavy snow and I cannot get out of the house to do my performances.

As for hobbies, well, that 33-foot Morgan is a great way to piss away your hard earned money and spend lots of leisure time either sailing, or just maintaining the boat. One of the things I really enjoy this time of year is spending the weekend sailing down Chesapeake Bay, finding a sheltered cove and anchoring up for the night. After dropping the anchor, I usually fire up the boat's gas grill, cook supper, mix a tall Margaretta and enjoy the sunset. It's one of the most relaxing things anyone can do, at least from my perspective. However, running the sailboat is a fair amount of exercise in itself. Anyone that has ever been aboard a sailboat will tell you it's not like driving a car.



Financially, I'm one of the few, that I know of, full-time musician/entertainers that actually created their own retirement program. I started this program 20 years ago, knowing that no one could possibly survive on Social Security alone. And, even though I have mandatory withdraws because of my age, I continue to contribute to the retirement program, all I can legally contribute, which usually offsets the withdraws. I have so many friends in this business that have never put a dime in the bank for retirement, many of which whom have passed away and left their spouses deeply in debt.

Additionally, I fully intend to cheat the funeral industry. I'm making arrangements to have my body donated to the University of Maryland School Of Medicine when I kick the bucket. If some 1st year resident can learn how to properly open a chest, brain, stomach, etc... using my old carcass I will be happy about it. From my perspective, the entire funeral industry is a massive rip off and they take advantage of grieving spouses - even for cremations. With the medical school donation, after one year, they cremate the remains and bring them to the surviving spouse in a container. So, old Gary can be put in the closet, sat upon the fireplace mantel, or just dumped into Chesapeake Bay. Of course, you have to get a hazardous waste permit from the feds to dump the ashes in the bay, which is ridiculous. Carol could also use my ashes for garden mulch. Forget the viewings, caskets, grave opening and closing expenses, etc... I told Carol to take a couple grand out of the retirement account and throw the biggest damned wake she wants. If she wishes, she can have a memorial service at the same time.

Now, a few years ago, I was hoping that I would be able to perform till the day I died, but obviously, that's not gonna happen. Long before then, I was hoping to be shot in the back of the head by a jealous husband while I was climbing out a second story window with my pants down around my ankles and a 19-year-old drop-dead gorgeous gal screaming "Don't leave me, Gary - Don't leave me." That ain't gonna work out either.

When I get around to retiring, there will be a fair amount of musical equipment up for sale. As for the boat, I've already told my children to take care of selling it so Carol will not have that burden.

Thanks again for the comments and recommendations, everyone,

Gary

Gary instead you should of made this thread titled.....


"Serious thoughts about "ENJOYING LIFE" Every Day" instead of all this dismal ranting that is depressing the crap out of me ...think Happy Thoughts buddy .......go Sail your boat and play music for people and make them happy and yourself too......
put all that negative life BS in the garbage pail & be thankful you have the Gift of Music in your life to share with others.
That said I'm off to a 6 gig 3 day weekend Oh baby let's Party!!!!

You sound like you are going about this in the right way Gary...it is a big step, and the more prepared you are for the life changes it will bring, the better.

Personally, I slipped into retirement quite easily, probably because I'm naturally very lazy, and also because I've always kept my lifestyle relatively simple, and, more importantly, I've always played my keyboard firstly for my own enjoyment, with playing for others a secondary (and often profitable) consideration.

That's probably why I don't miss gigging steady that much, although I will take a job if it suits me. I'm presently getting set up to do a lot of recording over the winter (and I certainly don't miss gigging at that time of year) and archiving all the tunes I loved playing over the years. I'll probably organize them into several CDs which I'll either give away to friends, or maybe even sell some to cover the cost of materials.

Retirement may seem daunting at first, but try to take it one day at a time, and don't miss out on your present life by being worried, or overly concerned, about the future.

That's all the advice I feel I'm qualified to give, and I hope your changeover goes smoothly.

Ian