I am old. I have been retired now for ten years and three months. Can I still claim to be a teacher? Well, of course! A teacher remains a teacher even after death. It’s like not being able to undo the fact that you are someone who was once born alive.
My body is old. I have seven incurable diseases and conditions, maybe eight. And I have survived skin cancer twice so far. Arthritis has been with me since age 18. The fiftieth anniversary of my diagnosis occurs in the Spring of 2025. Diabetes has been with me since the year 2000. Diabetes has caused eczema and diabetic depression. It may also have contributed to my glaucoma. I have had severe allergies since childhood. That caused bouts of chronic bronchitis which has caused COPD in my lungs. I also have hypertension, with my high blood pressure sending me to the emergency room at least once. And I had chronic prostatitis for a decade which permanently enlarged my prostate. I am battling prostatitis again now, having had a difficult week including an adverse reaction to antibiotics. I could go into further detail, but I have already given murderers numerous ways to murder me and make it look like natural causes. Good thing nobody reads this blog.
Oh, and I have symptoms of possible Parkinson’s Disease.
So, being retired has its drawbacks. Mainly because you mostly have to be old and ready to die to retire. And by the Texas Teachers’ Retirement System’s reckoning, I have lived five years longer in retirement than I was supposed to. Danged old teachers who don’t die when they’re supposed to!
Catch a Falling Star 