I Bynn At Lynn

Just as I was getting used to retirement two things happened: the economy collapsed and I was asked to return to the classroom, both of which knocked me off my stride.

At first the economic crisis just made me wary, then worried as it spread and I watched the For Sale signs sprout in our relatively well-heeled neighborhood, then right up and down the block, observed our neighbors move quietly out and know not where; I could guess why; watched in amazement as name brand stores died off with a whimper: Circuit City, K Mart, many mall stores going dark, not to mention so many construction firms and manufacturers. Our eyes were so shocked at the rocking and reeling banks and investment houses and the threat of losing our entire auto manufacturing industry that we hardly kept up with all the other smaller stores and services that were quietly going under everywhere.

When I finally got notified by my 401k that their directors had voted to pay 30% less interest and dividends on my savings each month I felt the downturn firsthand for the first time. It wouldn't sink us but would limit our options for sure.

By that time, however, the second retirement-stopper had happened: I got a call from my former employer asking me to return to teach two art appreciation classes. They had terminated the instructor in mid-semester for reasons I was not told nor cared to know. The reality was they were in a rather desperate need to staff the courses, which met a total of all five weekday afternoons, immediately, with a qualified instructor . Since I had taught those classes for years, I was ready to go and agreed to do it for the students' sake.

So I adjusted my mindset to a schedule again, got my dress shirts, trousers and ties out, and headed back to the campus five days a week. Fortunately when I had left for what I thought was forever last summer, I had kept a key to the lock on my old equipment cabinet when I turned in a duplicate--"just in case" I'd need to use it again someday. My equipment, my slides, my textbook, and my other course materials I had left for the next guy were all there and ready to go, and I revised my syllabus, cobbled together midterm grades from the scant information I could gather for the students' work to date, and resumed the course the way I teach it. It took the students a few weeks to readjust to my style and methods, but they have done so, just as I've adjusted to their learning needs. We will finish out by the end of this month.

In light of shrinking pension incomes, I have since agreed to return for a section again next fall and have been listed, so it looks like my next "retirement" will probably be after next Christmas again at the earliest. Maybe the economy will begin to generate better times by then, but I'm not going to hold my breath. No one knows how long this crisis will go on, or how severe it will get. As I write, things show some signs of improving on many fronts, but whether it will sustain a true recovery remains to be seen, as does my degree of retirement for the near future. I'll have to wait and see.