From the onset of the Coronavirus I began to rethink all my future plan after retirement. I think this virus has the entire world questioning what the future holds. I often fantasized about seeing Shotsy’s Lounge, in purple neon lighting, above the entrance of my very own bar. I envisioned people laughing and smiling showing all 32 pearly white teeth. Never in my wildest dreams did I picture people wearing a mask and sipping their drink through the side of their mouth from the corner of their mask. This was not in my plans. When I looked back on the order in which the states began to shut down, I realized that bars and lounges were among the first businesses forced to close its doors. My mind immediately began to wonder, what if I were already retired and Shotsy’s Lounge was up and running? How would I support myself if I were in business? Would I be able to sustain long term closure? I had planned on sinking most of my TSP money into opening the business therefore, I could assume that I would not be financially stable enough to maintain the business once things finally reopen. I had to try and predict the future of the new normal. Are people going to still want to go out and socialize or will they still be in fear of the coronavirus? If only the CDC would say that alcoholic beverage would ward off the virus. I know that is wishful thinking on my part. Maybe even a little bit selfish because I did not want to let the dream of seeing my name in lights go.
Trying to come up with a new plan for my future after retirement seemed bleak. I only had one dream and I was focused on that one dream. I thought maybe I could open a liquor store. I had it all designed in my mind of how things could work if the world were ever faced with this crisis again. The second thought hit me, and I realized that is not going to give me the feeling of interacting with people and developing that special bond with the regulars to my establishment. I came up with all sort of business idea that would sustain another pandemic. I could say none of those idea tugged at my heartstrings. They say the heart want it wants and my heart was conflicted. I also allowed fear to enter my thoughts and discouraged me from even attempting to open a business after this world-wide shutdown. Being a well-known author would solve all these issues and quiet all these thoughts. However, my success as an author would still depend on the economic state of the world. Are people going to choose buying a book over buying toilet paper? I l think not.
I was considering retiring at 50, because I already have 20 year of government service. My 50th birthday is November 7, 2020, and I don’t think I could afford to retire at that time because the stock market took such a major hit during this crazy time. My saving grace is that the Bureau of Prisons has a mandatory retirement age of 57. This means I can not work one day beyond my 57th birthday. This also means that if I decide to stay working until that time, I will have 7 years to figure out my future beyond the Coronavirus.
