Voices of Retirement (2)

Dr. Curtis H. Moore of Rockford, Ill. was dean of the vening and summer session programs at Rockford College for 25 years until his retirement in 1979. His "second trajectory" has been to teach the art of retirement itself:

"The classes I teach are made up of all sorts -- heads of large firms, blue-collar workers. People come absolutely blank -- scared."

"There are no pat answers except that a 10-year period is almost minimal if you want to do something about planning your finances, your housing, your leisure time."

"Right now we have to deal with the elementary problems like these -- people not understanding what their budget is."

"Twenty years from now we'll be focusing on different topics -- not just providerism. The emphasis will be on people helping each other."

"The massive number of people entering retirement are slowly changing the public attitude. But personnel offices still close the door."

"As a more educated group comes along, we're going to see less of the handwork, ceramics-type of activity, and more intellectual activity. This is going to challenge campuses to provide more courses for retired people."

"We've got to get away from the idea that employment and a paycheck are life."

We're so dominated by old ideas. This'll take us all another 25 years. Then we'll get down to what we've really wanted to do all our lives. Then we'll begin."