100 and Still Working. Retirement Not An Option.
Watching what’s happening on Wall Street and following the politicians as they try to bailout what they are calling a crisis that could have catastrophic results for all Americans and the world, I am starting to have a recurrent dream of living out my ‘golden years’ as a bag lady sleeping under an apple tree.
Retirement might just become a thing of the past. But for some, retirement has never been an option.
Why?
Because they love their jobs too much to give them up.
Case in point – Mildred Heath. She’s 100 years old and still working in a career that she started in 1923 at the age of 15.
And she has no intention of retiring. Working as a journalist what she does and who she is. Commuting the one block from her apartment to the office on an electric scooter, she takes classified ads, files photographs, and seeks out local news. Even at a big gathering to celebrate her 100th birthday, Mrs. Heath kept a notepad and pen handy to gather news for that week’s paper.
An inspiration for people of all ages, Mildred was recently named by Experience Works, the nation’s largest provider of training and employment services for older workers, as America’s Oldest Worker for 2008.
Here’s Mildred in her own words…
I wonder how many more Mildred’s are out there…
(source)
I was just thinking that with this economy, it’s more important than ever to stay healthy since I’m going to be working to the day I die.
Hi Clara, same here. These days retirement sounds a little like a dream from a bygone era…