Hope and Survival Dr. Juan Harrison
Hope and Survival
As we began the year 2025 a lot of folks told me their mood was hopeful. Seems like half the businesses in town here In East Texas have a “Help Wanted” on their window or door. In some cases, they have had to cut the number of days or hours of service due to a shortage of help. On the other end I’ve heard that more retired folks were considering getting a part-time job. Most of us old guys will do such a good job and be so dependable that they will start pushing us into full-time work like my friend Debbie at the bank. That old work ethic we learned growing up makes us great candidates for those job vacancies.
I love work. I love to do a good job. You don’t even have to brag on me. When the boys and I finished a job years ago we liked to drive by it to admire our work. I’m old and retired. I don’t want a full-time or even a part-time job with set days and hours. I have my little business that lets me work when I want. Sometimes I’ve thought about closing shop and getting me one of those part-time jobs where I just show up and don’t have to worry about having all this equipment. Still, I love the freedom of retirement and the flexibility it gives my life.
The buzzard of inflation and rising costs worry us a bit as we try to hang on with our fingernails and toenails to the good quality of life we’ve had. I know I’m not too good to go back to work to keep me and Mama our of the poor house, but I don’t want to. I miss sometimes the things I used to do for a career, but not enough to wanna go back. Too much has changed. It’s a young person’s world.
Right now, I’ve enjoyed perfecting my babysitting skills. I like those visits to the movie with the kiddos where we order up the Kiddy special with an Icee. I might even swipe a kernel or two of popcorn as one of em sits in my lap as I try not to doze off in that comfortable reclining seat with some cartoon hero in the background fighting some force of evil.
In the 30’s and early 40’s my folks felt the effects of the Great Depression on their farm. I came along at the tail end of the war and thought living in a two room shack without electricity or running water was normal. Like a lot of you these days, as you keep peeking over your shoulder, you know it’s not out of the realm of possibilities for this world of living high and charging it to come to a screeching halt. Let’s hope it doesn’t come to it but most likely us old guys would probably end up handling it better than the younger folks. Seems like there’s something in our DNA that could get us up off that couch and go take that part-time job if it came down to our survival.
By Dr. Juan Harrison
