The, "Well It Has Happened Once Again!" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Reading an online article written by Julia Hammond titled "4 Incredible Places to Retire in the U.S."  Right away I knew what I was about to read in the next few minutes for it has happened more than once in the past couple of years.  

Sarasota, Florida

Began the article reading about Sarasota, Florida where over a third of the residents in Sarasota County are over 65 years of age making it a top spot for retirees.  The big draw is the warm weather which barely drops below 60 degrees in the winter months.  There are over 35 miles of flat, sandy beaches which are perfect for early morning walks and warm water perfect for swimming.  There are over a dozen movie theaters as well as double the number of art galleries.  And, a final draw would have to be the fifty plus golf courses in the area.  

Palm Desert, California

The second place to retire would be Palm Desert, California which has a median age of 55.5 years and an increase of over seven thousand people over 65 between 2000 and 2016.  But, climate is the big factor as this city's attraction.  Summer temperatures are high, but winters are mild and the lack of rainfall is perfect for those with ailments compounded by damp conditions.  And, there are plenty of hiking trails, horse riding, tennis, golf and swimming to occupy the leisure time.  A big draw in Palm Desert is the 150 restaurants in the town plus the many more in nearby Palm Springs.  Perhaps the three large hospitals may be a big draw also.  

Kennebunk, Maine

As for the next city, Kennebunk, Maine, the harsh winters isn't what draws retirees to this location, but the high number of senior citizens ranks second after Florida.  The small town vibe, low crime rate, quiet life and good food is what makes about a third of the residents of this town retirees.  OK, now I am getting to the final city.  

Skyline of Lancaster, Pennsylvania

I know I should be proud of the fact that my town of Lancaster, Pennsyl- vania is one of the top places to retire, but after multiple other stories of Lancaster being a good place to retire, I'm beginning to get worried that there won't be enough places in my town for my wife and I to stay.  And, Lancaster wasn't just one of the top four, it was the #1 spot in the U.S. to retire.  Six factors were taken into account during the rating of places to retire.  They were: housing affordability, desirability, retiree taxes, the happiness index, job market and health care quality.  Seems Lancaster scored well in housing affordability and happiness.  The charming downtown and nearby Amish community also helped.  About the only bad thing was the fact that it is a hard city name to pronounce.  Seems we who call Lancaster home already can pick out a newbie as soon as they open their mouth and say the name of the city.  Most call our city Lan-cass-ter instead of Lanc-kiss-ter.  Hey, we really have too many old people living in our town already.  Find another place to stay!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "The Octopus Whisperer" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Reading about a fellow who retired about 25 years ago and became an octopus whisperer.  Now I feel bad.  Why?  Well, when I retired I thought I might be bored if I couldn't find something to do with my free time.  After 33 years of teaching high school I was ready to try something different.  But what?  Didn't take long before I had a call from the Principal of the Middle School in the district where I had taught asking if I would be interested in taking charge of the school yearbook.  I had done the high school book for 32 years so he figured I would know what to do.  I agreed to give it a try and began immediately taking photos to use in the book.  Then I got a call from the high school asking if I was available to do some in-house printing.  Since I had taught Graphic Arts, which included running a press, I was a natural for them, since the new teacher was slightly overwhelmed starting his career in the classroom.  So now I had two jobs to keep me busy.  Then a week later one of my former students asked if I wanted to help him in his matting and framing business.  You bet!  So you can see I wasn't sitting in front of the TV all the time.  What I did was both interesting and enjoyable since I was using the skills that I had taught for years.  But, when I read about the guy who retired and spent the following 25 years as an octopus whisperer, I was envious.  Mr. Wilson Menashi retired after a career as a chemical engineer.  Shortly afterward he began a new career working at the New England Aquarium in Boston, Massachusetts.  I guess I should tell you that he didn't go to work to get paid, since he works every day as a volunteer.   He at one time said, "Just being here has been, to me, a lifesaver.  Gave me something to do.  Gave me different interests and showed me the world is a wonderful place to be."  And, I know exactly what he means!  Only difference was he worked with creatures that swam in the ocean while I worked with humans.  Two of Wilson's favorite "playmates" were Freya and Professor Ludwig Von Drake.  This 84-year old guy has been playing with giant Pacific octopuses for 25 years.  And, they love each other.  He said, "I have been able to connect with them from the beginning.  I do not know why.  I cannot explain it, but I can connect with them."  

Wilson "plays' with Freya, a giant Pacific octopus.
Click on images to enlarge them.

His job at the aquarium is to design puzzle boxes for the octopuses, rubbing their backs and gently stimulating their arms.  He said you need a lot of patience to do the job.  Now, I should tell you that one of the octopuses, Freya, a three year old predator, weighs close to 40 pounds and has tentacles that span 14 feet and have enough strength to kill a shark.  Wilson seems to have a special attachment with the giant cephalopod whose body includes a large, saclike head and eight enormous and strong tentacles.  One of the photos included in the story I read about Wilson shows him with Freya's tentacles holding onto him as if they are hugging one another.  

Wilson shows one of the tentacle on Freya

At times the encounters he has with the octopuses leave marks on his arms which he must explain to his wife when he gets home.  He said, "I will come home sometimes with hickeys all over my arm and my neck."  Wilson estimates he has spent 7,800 hours at the aquarium since he began as a volunteer there.  For me, I do enjoy what I do in retirement, and the salary gives me a chance to travel with my wife, but I think I would really enjoy doing what he is doing.  And, to think I could have been an octopus whisperer!  Wow, the stories I could have written about that!!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.   

The "How Can This Happen To The Oldtimers Of Lancaster?" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Opened an email sent to me by an unsolicited site titled "Story For Me...be informed".  

Online website whose name sounded interesting to me.

Normally don't open mail that I don't recognize, but the title of the site seemed interesting; so, I clicked!  Story that it revealed was titled "5 Top Places To Retire in 2019".  Interesting!  It was this past October that U.S. News & World Report published a similar story and listed my hometown of Lancaster, Pennsylvania as the #1 place in the United States to retire.  Lancaster is known as the "Garden Spot of America" and the idyllic rolling green hills is a big draw for those who have lived their entire life in a large noisy environment.  Lancaster offers a great balance between natural and commercial spaces as well as a variety of colleges and tech schools for those who choose to go back to school.  Lancaster also has a variety of health care systems to cure just about every malady an old person might develop.  Well, after clicking on the email and bypassing a variety of ads, I opened the No. 1 place to retire in 2019 as per the site "Story For Me...be informed".  Any guesses?  Yep...the No. 1 place to retire is...Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  You have any idea how scary this may be for all the old people who have lived in Lancaster all our lives!  Many of us are preparing our homes to place them for sale so we can move into one of our many retirement homes we have.  But, during the past few years, the list is growing at each retirement home which means that you have to get your name on the waiting list which may take a year or more before you can enter the retirement community of your choice.  And, we don't have just one or two communities.  We have over 20!  And each one has a waiting list!!  I hope this will be the last online list that tells everyone to move to Lancaster when they retire.  The new list says that Lancaster seems to be on the top of the list of Best Places to Retire due to increases in housing affordability, the overall happiness of its residents and access to health care.  This formal capital of Pennsylvania is located between Philadelphia and Harrisburg.  

Photo of Lancaster that accompanied the story.  I have
lived in Lancaster all my life and I'm not sure where this
photo may have been taken!  Not a good choice of photo
to try and sell a place as a place to retire.  But, that's OK!

The only good thing about this new online list of best places to retire is the fact that the photo that accompa- nied the story looks like the worst place in the city.  It shows buildings with paint smeared on them, a building that looks as it is may be burned and a busy and crowded skyline.  Now who would want to move to a place like that?  I'm hoping that's what people will think.  The 2nd thru 5th choices all have great photos to go along with the recommendations.  But, you know...that's fine with me.  Our streets are beginning to get congested and the time to get to and from work is getting longer.  People...this just isn't a good place to retire.  You can take that from me who has lived here all my life.  And, don't believe anymore magazines or websites that tell you anything different.  Stay away!!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "I Live In The Best Place In America To Retire!" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Looking over the magazine section at a local news stand close to my house for a magazine or two to take with me on an upcoming vacation.  I picked up a U.S. News & World Report and before long knew I had to buy this one since it told of Lancaster County being the best place in the nation in which to retire.  Now, those of us who live in Lancaster County have known that for years and years and now everyone else in the nation will know that also.  Not sure how I feel about letting the world know they should move to Lancaster after they retire.  Our town seems to be growing too fast for those of us who have lived here all our lives.  Well, the magazine released their annual rankings recently and listed Lancaster #1 after taking into account housing affordability and the happiness of its residents.  Also took into account the quality of health care, the job market for retirees, the tax burden on retirees and desirability.  The rest of the top five were: Fort Myers, Florida; Sarasota, Florida; Austin, Texas; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  Funny that #2 thru #4 were in the sunny south were many retirees from Lancaster migrate to for the winter months.  So what exactly does Lancaster have to offer?  We have 16 retirement communities with about 13,000 residents.  Many of those communities have begun to enlarge their size to accommodate more residents who will soon be arriving here due to this story in the magazine.  Many already know that Lancaster offers a balance between natural and commercial spaces that residents appreciate.  As I have typed many, many times in the past, Lancaster is known as the "Garden Spot of America" which naturally will draw those who want to get away from the big cities in our country.  

Idyllic Lancaster County farmland.

In Lancaster most of those retirement homes border Lancaster County farmland.  Millersville University, Franklin & Marshall College, Elizabethtown College, Pennsylvania College of Health Sciences, Pennsylvania College of Art and Design, Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology and Lancaster Bible College are all inside the county limits with quite a few more directly outside Lancaster County's border.  I mention all these facts since they are some of the things that made Lancaster the Best place in our nation to retire.  20% of U.S. News & World Report evaluation of best places to retire was based on the Job Market Index and if there might be jobs for retirees if they so desired to work.  25% was based on the Value Index which tells if retirees could afford to retire to the area based on the cost of living in the area.  30% was based on Quality of Life Index which measured how satisfied residents are with their daily life who live in the area.  The crime rate, health care, quality of education, well-being and commuting time to services in the area also were part of the survey.  

One of Lancaster's many retirement communities.

Desirability Index was 15% of the evaluation which measured how people felt about living in the area and the final 10% was how often people who already lived in the area might want to move away from Lancaster.  I'm not sure how I feel about Lancaster being in the news like this.  Our County is growing at too fast a rate for me and a report such as this, thought it does show how good we have it here in Lancaster County, is only going to make it grow faster.  I have noticed that the half-dozen homes in my neighborhood that were placed "For Sale" recently all sold within a month.  Now I suspect I will begin to have people knocking on my door asking if I would like to sell my home.  Better get busy getting my name on the list of a few of those retirement homes.  Some take over a year to get into them.  Now that might change to a two year waiting list.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.