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Comment by jack on May 5, 2009 at 11:45am

“You have the need and the right to spend part of your life caring for your soul. It is not easy...To be a soulful person means to go against all the pervasive, prove-yourself values of our culture and instead treasure what is unique and internal and valuable in yourself and your own personal evolution.”

—Jean Shinoda Bolen; psychiatrist, author

Comment by clarence haynes on March 24, 2009 at 4:44pm

I am computer rookie insulin-dependent since 1977, have found a way share my experiences of being a CNR porter for 25 years, maitre'd at 3 soul food restaurant, in Toronto, SOUL AMBASSADOR with TORONTO TOURISM for 22 years,and a ROLE MODEL to over 40.000 diabetics and telling them to being in CONTROL. not DIABETES. On JULY 30, INSULIN APPRECIATION DAY, I will asking insulin-users, worldwide, to join me, in silence, and give THANKS for BANTING & BEST, giving hundreds of millions of US a chance to live a healthy lifestyle. Check out www.restorethebantinghomestead. com and find out why AMIGOS will be selling BLUE ROSES on that day to support them. We chose this flower because one of its meaning is "ATTAINING THE IMPOSSIBLE" our motto. clarence.haynes@sympatico.ca At 91 and a student of the UNIV OF HARD KNOCKS, where there is NO GRADUATION DAY, and you never finish your apprenticship, I realize how little I know and yet to learn.

Comment by Linda Edwards on February 3, 2009 at 8:33pm

Interesting story about Tom McCreight. I really enjoyed reading it. Thanks.

Comment by jack on February 3, 2009 at 7:43am

re the Tom McCreight article..... sorry the pictures didn't come through again. If you would like to see the article about,"The Old Coot" in its entirety.. go to www.retiredandinspired.blogspot.com Thanks

Comment by jack on February 3, 2009 at 7:41am

Tom McCreight

Sometimes what we do in our retirement is an extension of what we did in our earlier life. Tom McCreight was a teacher in North York and he loved being a teacher. His career took him to all areas in the board where he taught math and sciences. One day the music teacher at his school came to him and told him that he was putting together a band and asked Tom if he would like to be the bass player. Well...... Tom had never played the bass but hey he knew a few chords and before he knew it, he was playing in a band. Ultimately that group went where most groups go but by now he had become involved with the Toronto Bluegrass Committee. He received a call and was asked to put together a house band and they started playing The Brunswick Hotel in downtown Toronto on Saturday afternoons. Ultimately this led to the founding of SILVERBIRCH of which Tom is the sole remaining member.

SILVERBIRCH

Retirement came and Tom got more and more involved with bluegrass. The band continued to play and Tom started selling bluegrass CDs under the name Coot. His business grew as did his nickname, "The Old Coot."
This ultimately led to his publishing a quarterly newsletter and you can still find his column at The Blugrass Music Association of Central Canada website. http://www.bmacc.ca/

Through his association with "his hobby" Tom met Mike Stevens, the famed harmonica player which led to his involvement with Arts Can Circle.
http://www.mikestevensmusic.com/

During a layover in Gander, Mike talked a reporter into taking him up to Davis Inlet. What he saw and experienced http://archives.cbc.ca/society/poverty/clips/11525/ led to the founding of Arts Can Circle, an organization which, in their words: "is an independent, volunteer-run group working to link creative artists with Native youth at risk in Canada. Our hope is to encourage self-esteem amongst Native youth in isolated communities through a cooperative exploration of the arts."

So Tom continues to play bluegrass but now his hobby has led to a much greater involvement with a much larger project.
You can catch Tom and Silverbirch on Saturday March 28, 2009 as they play a concert fundraiser for Arts Can Circle at The Uxbridge Music Hall. He has been very grateful for past support from the merchants and people of Uxbridge. Previous concerts have been extremely well received and supported especially by The Royal Canadian Legion Branch 170 and by the Rotary Club. There are only 300 seats in this wonderful hall and tickets can be puchased for only $15 at The Blue Heron Book Store. Come on out for a wonderful night of Bluegrass!!

When I asked Tom for a favourite quote he said, "I'd rather be sorry for something I did than something I didn't do."
Ya gotta take a chance and get out there and do it!!

Comment by Linda Edwards on February 1, 2009 at 10:57pm

Hi all, I am retired from my regular job as an occupational therapist, but I still had a drive to work so I have continued to work in developing my own businesses. We all have so many skills to share from our work experiences. Let's keep sharing our successes.

Comment by Annette Tilden on January 28, 2009 at 10:52am

I took early retirement in 2005 from a job I love in order to help my sister out with the care of our father, who is now a month away from turning 100. I was thrilled that the company promised to call me back on a part-time basis whenever they needed help. That seems to be quite often when I'm not at the farm where Dad and my sister live.

Comment by jack on January 27, 2009 at 8:53am

Sorry bit I misspelled sorry and I can't seem to edit it. I must be having a few senior moments. lol

Comment by jack on January 27, 2009 at 8:51am

Soory the pictures didn't come through. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong but I'll work on it.
To see the full article, please go to www.retiredandinspired.blogspot.com
Jan Louthain


Sometimes your job can get in the way of what you really would like to do but we need to keep the bills paid and our lives moving forward. Jan Louthian had always loved writing and this hobby helped her keep her sanity while she was working for the Department of Defense and other federal agencies as a management analyst and systems accountant. She had started writing articles and was starting to get repeat assignments for various newspapers and magazines when the government passed a law banning all federal employees from writing magazine articles or giving speeches for remuneration. Oh well. That became a good time to resurrect the children's book she'd started years earlier.


After retirement the book, which was to become her first novel Tagger Alone Along the Mystic River, came out and was ultimately finished. Tagger is a wonderful novel about a young girl who is sold into servitude at a very young age. Through strong willed determination she frees herself and goes on to develop a free and exciting life.



Now came the struggles of any first author and Jan began to explore the challenging world of self publishing. Ultimately Tagger was selected for the Fall 2002 Children's Booksense 76 List and later recommended for the Nutmeg Award in Connecticut.
After 9/11 Jan wrote her second book, Ame the Elephant, Terrorized by Evil Mice which used animal characters to help children understand the horrible events of the day.

In 2002, Jan also started a monthly online newsletter for Baby Boomers called BOOMER-ING (www.alexiebooks.com/boomering.ivnu) which includes expert articles that help Boomers transition through the complexities of retiring, downsizing, coping with elderly parents, coping with their own health and finances, and staying motivated if they must continue to work. In addition, she's started two blogs:
boomeringb.blogspot.com and boomering.typepad.com which give Boomers the opportunity to share their views online on a number of critical issues.

Now enjoying life in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina with her husband Ron and two parrots, Jan continues to help other authors to get published and is working on her next book, The 18 Mysterious Secrets of Respectable Golf.

Comment by jack on January 26, 2009 at 7:17pm

What do you think of the article??