|
|
|---|
Episode 808 Retirement and Getting Involved in Politics
This is Retirement Talk. I’m Del Lowery
“A sandwich board? You spent the weekend as a sandwich board?” Roy Ingham told me he had been walking on the sidewalk along a busy street in Sarasota, Florida. The board proclaimed his support for “Pro Choice”. Roy earned a BA from Harvard and a PHD from the University of Chicago. Now he’s a sandwich board.
This is Retirement Talk. I’m Del Lowery. The following podcast was first aired in 2007. It has been updated just a bit. Roy is celebrating his 89th birthday this month.
Retirement brings lots of opportunities. One of them is to spend more time going to meetings, going to demonstrations, writing letters, canvassing neighborhoods, sitting at a computer and signing petitions. It might appeal to you? Roy did all of the above – on a regular basis.
Roy moved to Florida at age 78 to be with his daughter as she battled cancer. He got to be with her for a few years before she died. He remained in Florida. For many years he stayed with us every summer for a few weeks. He got cold up here in the Pacific Northwest. We walked to the local coffee shop around 4 in the afternoon one visit. The temperature must have been in the low 70s. His hands turned blue. I am not kidding you. Blue. Cold didn”t like Roy.
Roy was a political activist – in the best sense of the word. I first met Roy when I ran for public office – my only attempt – and an unsuccessful one at that. He called and asked me a couple of questions. One thing led to another and soon he knocked on my front door. He was already working for another candidate running for the same office. When he left my house he said that he was going to quit working for the other guy and come over to help me with my campaign. He said, “I just know in my heart, or gut, that I am more aligned with your views than the other guy.” He switched. He was 70 years old.
He walked neighborhoods, handed our campaign literature, talked to people, contributed money and put up campaign signs. His interest, dedication and energy seemed endless.
Fascism became a major concern - Fascism in America. One morning he laid a manila folder in front of me and asked me to look at it and tell him if the titles of each article would make me want to read the article. All of the articles were on the Bush/Cheney fascistic approach to governing. Roy has sent a packet like mine to Ralph Nader, Bill Moyer, Dennis Kucinich, and a bunch of other people whom I did not recognize.
Just over twenty years ago Roy traveled to Canada to be with the First Nations people as they protested the logging of their ancestral and old growth forest grounds around Clayoquot Sound. He volunteered to be among the arrested but at the last moment found out that if he were arrested he would never be able to return to Canada. He opted to stay out of jail. Truth be told – he didn’t want to give up his yearly pilgrimage to the Vancouver Folk Festival.
Roy helped organize the Green Party in Sarasota years ago. He helped organize a protest to Kathryn Harris and her questionable handling of the Gore victory over George Bush in Florida.
On a local level, Roy led a move to organize the local Cornwall Park Neighborhood Association. He served on the Mayor’s Greenway Advisory Committee. And he filed charges against a local county council member to the state ethics committee. It resulted in a change in the county ethics laws. This while learning how to throw pots in college art classes and swimming daily on the master’s swim team.
Roy did all of this after the age of 65. Retirement gave him time to put his values into practice. Political issues are a place where rubber meets the road. Our society organizes itself through governmental actions. This is especially true through the expenditure of massive sums of money. It is where we make our laws and to a large extent decide the nature of our society. We can’t leave that to others all the time. We could end up with a fascist government.
Political candidates and issues can always use a helping hand. It might be just exactly what you're looking for. It is a way to affect issues you care about, meet people and maintain a sense of self affirmation.
Roy died at age 93. He was writing and working politics right up to the last few days of his life. He never gave up.
This is Retirement Talk. I’m Del Lowery
A resource from a listener: Best Free Online Degrees for Seniors guide is designed to assist seniors who aspire to enhance their intellect or consider starting a new career path. It features an overview of the top online degrees for seniors, emphasizing their numerous advantages, and a broad range of subjects to choose from. A friend's website: Terra Firma Designs: Fine Furniture, Stained Glass and woodworking workshops. Copyright 2010 RetirementTalk.org |
|
|---|
