Retirement?!?!

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Yeah,
I retired 7/1/2020 and it's great but I haven't been able to do anything (though I want to) rocketry because my lovely spouse in my avatar died a couple of years ago and I have to take care of an autistic spectrum adult son of whom I pursued and got guardianship of just after she died.

I could go to launches now and my son, Christopher is fine now. No more violent behavior. Was really bad during adolescence but at least my wife got to see him on his good behavior before she died. Man, she was a saint. I miss her royally.

We didn't realize there was a radon problem where we live and Sally died of metastatic lung cancer. She never smoked a cigarette in her life. I did have an air evacuation system installed in the house after she died and there are no high levels of Radon anymore.

After she passed, I bought a Radon meter and saw how high the level was. I had 3 months to say good-bye to Sally and consider myself lucky. Some folks drop dead and that's it.

Kurt Savegnago
 
ksaves2 said:
Yeah,
I retired 7/1/2020 and it's great but I haven't been able to do anything (though I want to) rocketry because my lovely spouse in my avatar died a couple of years ago and I have to take care of an autistic spectrum adult son of whom I pursued and got guardianship of just after she died.

I could go to launches now and my son, Christopher is fine now. No more violent behavior. Was really bad during adolescence but at least my wife got to see him on his good behavior before she died. Man, she was a saint. I miss her royally.

We didn't realize there was a radon problem where we live and Sally died of metastatic lung cancer. She never smoked a cigarette in her life. I did have an air evacuation system installed in the house after she died and there are no high levels of Radon anymore.

After she passed, I bought a Radon meter and saw how high the level was. I had 3 months to say good-bye to Sally and consider myself lucky. Some folks drop dead and that's it.

Kurt Savegnago
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Kurt, I remember that well; I felt terrible for you both. It would have to cut like a machete through your midsection to see your beloved suffer and pass like that, and just as you reach the time you'd worked for all these years. We also have a son on the autism spectrum. He is very well behaved though, and verbal enough, takes care of his own hygiene etc.

I hope you get to the point where Christopher likes to go to launches. My son does, though we've only done 2 - both private family events at the local ball field. I hope to pick up the frequency now. maybe even go to a PSC launch, though it's a bit of a haul; my wife could go to the outlets at Grove City!
 
Sandy H. said:
All of my mentors who retired enjoyed retirement more than working, but they also jumped at the chance to come back to help out when needed. From my current perspective, I think retirement must be all about measured freedom and measured desirability (not the best word, but all I could think of).

I hope your retirement is the perfect balance of measured freedom and measured desirability (along with unlimited resources, just for fun!).

Congratulations!!!

Sandy.
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Yes, Sandy I will be helping the young'uns out from time to time. Only for my company, I'm not putting out a shingle. And oh, the other things I want to get into!
 
Welcome to the club!

I retired in Jan 2019, and have since been able to rekindle my love of rocketry. I've been able to do quite a bit of building and flying in between catching up on 'honey-dos', remodeling one home, selling another home, and moving (although I haven't been able to get black to building yet after the move this summer). I earned my L1 at NARAM 60 in Muncie, IN the first summer of retirement and my L2 the following summer flying with Team-1 in Michigan.

As @lakeroadster stated:
lakeroadster said:
Enjoy your freedom and remember it's all about the journey, and not the destination. No need for self defined "hard" deadlines now.
Click to expand...

Congrats on your retirement!
 
Blast it Tom! said:
Kurt, I remember that well; I felt terrible for you both. It would have to cut like a machete through your midsection to see your beloved suffer and pass like that, and just as you reach the time you'd worked for all these years. We also have a son on the autism spectrum. He is very well behaved though, and verbal enough, takes care of his own hygiene etc.

I hope you get to the point where Christopher likes to go to launches. My son does, though we've only done 2 - both private family events at the local ball field. I hope to pick up the frequency now. maybe even go to a PSC launch, though it's a bit of a haul; my wife could go to the outlets at Grove City!
Click to expand...

I made sure she was comfortable at the end with a morphine drip.

Kurt
 
Congratulations! I just started the retirement process myself. Last day should be October 31. The 15 weeks I spent on strike convinced me there are other things besides work. I'm hoping harsh economic reality doesn't compel me back into the workforce at some point in the future.
 
Sooner Boomer said:
Now that you have all this time, you could start an OnlyFans channel!
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All this time?!?! I sure hope it settles down some, but this first week has been a whirlwind! Other than posting here, all I've done for the "what did you do rocket-wise today?" thread was to rewrap my Boyce Mercury Redstone and help my grandaughter put her Estes crayon together, both today!

And no, no nekkid rockets. I like a good finish - though getting one is a different matter altogether!
 
ksaves2 said:
Congratulations,

I bailed out from practicing medicine July 1st, 2020 as I was 63 going on 64, my lovely spouse died of Radon induced lung cancer the year before (she never smoked a cigarette in her life) and I was legally a guardian of my adult son who has an autistic spectrum disorder but he is doing very well.
Haven't touched a rocket in a couple of years but haven't lost my enthusiasm. Have to do "domestic" chores for now but will get back into it as soon as the mood hits and I can get back into the workshop. When is the next Midwest Power? :)
Kurt Savegnago
Click to expand...
Halloween weekend
 
Ok, gang, this retirement business... Well, I'm glad I was retired! Much of the first 2-1/2 months were consumed with backed-up housework and yardwork, changing over insurances and phones and such, more consulting than I needed or wanted to be doing, and helping my mother-in-law and (step) father-in-law.. After she broke her hip in mid-July, he started to decline. She is fully recovered, but he passed away with us all around him on Oct. 24th. At least semi-conscious up to the end almost, she kissed him and he kissed her back only an hour or two before he died with her and with his oldest son holding his hands.

Things are starting to settle just a bit... Just a little bit. So today, just two of my sons and my brother-in-law went out for a launch:
DSCN5341.JPG

Here's how it went:

1. Odd'l Birdie on an A3-4T - Nozzle blew out of motor, max altitude 10 ft (maybe...)
2. Odd'l Cyclone, no paint - Beautiful flight on 1/2A3-2T - Mapleseed recovery was great!
3. Odd'l Pigasus - Great flight on a C6-3, semi-reefed 'chute but no damage.
4. Estes (110) Astrocam - used film recess in nosecone for my first Flightsketch Mini launch - Great flight to 464 ft on a C6-3.
5. Estes Power Patrol - Perfect flight on a C6-5 to about 1000' or better.
6. Estes Mercury Redstone - Quest D16-4, Nosecone springback on eject took off one outer fin portion, the upper launch lug, and the launch escape tower. Will be switching to Kevlar on that one!
7. Estes Venus Probe - Good flight on Quest D16-4, but reefed chute on lander caused one lander leg to break off - easy repair, though.
8. Estes V-2 - 1st flight on D12-3 was perfect. 2nd flight immediately following, hooked up Flightsketch Mini, flew on E12-6 to 814 ft, and in drifted into a tree. This rocket likes trees; of three flights, two ended in trees. :(
Got permission from land owner to recover tomorrow.
9. Finished things off on a up note with a second flight of the Estes Power Patrol on a C6-5, came down from 1000' about 50' from the pad.

So we were kinda bummed - gotta load up the ladder and pole saw tomorrow and we had driven out to Cranberry Twp Park for a little more space and still ran afoul of a tree line, and now we do it again tomorrow. My beloved Redstone had lost it's LES tower, and two replaceable pieces (outer fin and launch lug). We looked in the landing area (a line of bullrushes) but couldn't find anything. So we're headed back to the car and I almost stepped on this:

20211107_172016_cr.jpg
That's when I figured out that the damage was caused by springback of the nosecone. Looking at the video confirmed it, you could see pieces falling from the area around the rocket. Crazy enough, all three rocket nozzles are on my workbench, as they got broke the last time out and I hadn't had time to fix them. If I had any brains I'd get a flight capsule without the delicate LES as many do here; but I just love the authentic appearance!

So my dear beloved is questioning this whole hobby of mine... and I was just talking with a fellow from PSC over a Hobby Express, he just had $500 worth of hardware and electronics drift off into the marsh! Ok, love, it's a setback, but I just have to learn to fly the field better. In this area, if you can get 1000' clear in 1 direction, it's a miracle... There's a lot you can do below 1000'; you just have to be careful.
 
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kuririn said:
Great flight report. Your launch pad and controller really rock.
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Thanks! That box is half tongue-in-cheek, and half to excite the grandkids. All the LED's are functional, and it's NAR safety code compliant. And the pad is something my oldest son built like, 32 years ago as a 14 year old; it's finally getting some use (and it's had a couple of upgrades). He patterned it after one I'd made as a kid.

Sheesh! Edited to add a close view of the front of the battery box, I never showed that here very well:
DSCN5345.JPG
That's Duck Dodgers and Marvin the Martian (hidden) on the side; Snoopy and the Apollo 10 mission patch are on the other.
 
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kuririn said:
Do your grandkids already have these rockets?
If not I think they would get a hoot out of them.
View attachment 489063

On clearance at erockets.

As long as it was not headed toward London it's all good.
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Yes, they do! And the oldest has a blue Estes Crayon as well! But we have to get some time to take them out, it's a bit more of a production getting everyone together.
 
And today (with permission) we recovered the V2 & Flightsketch Mini from the tree - or, more properly, my oldest son did:20211108_130721_sm.jpg

A 24' extension ladder and a 16' lopper/pruning saw (fully extended) was needed to reach the V2. The FS Mini still had the flight data!
 
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Congrats to all you retirees! I am semi-retired. I started to collect SS at the beginning of 2021. I quit my full-time job when I gained part time employment in July, Real Estate Photography. Sometimes I work 20 hours a week, sometimes no work for the week, and everything in between. I also (with the guidance from my Lord Jesus Christ) have been picked as a photog for many aviation shoots. I am so busy, but it is SO different when it's not work, and no boss! I haven't been to a DARS launch in over 2 years. Covid, weather and other commitments always got in the way of a launch. I have 5 rockets that have not flown yet and over 10 in the build pile. I hope to launch a few during DARS November launch. In my semiretirement, I have been shooting my weapons, putting on firework shows, working on my N scale model RR, and of course my photography. Life is great. Here is a link to my Rhode Island shoot:

Nicholas Viggiano on Behance
 
TALON said:
Congrats to all you retirees! I am semi-retired. I started to collect SS at the beginning of 2021. I quit my full-time job when I gained part time employment in July, Real Estate Photography. Sometimes I work 20 hours a week, sometimes no work for the week, and everything in between. I also (with the guidance from my Lord Jesus Christ) have been picked as a photog for many aviation shoots. I am so busy, but it is SO different when it's not work, and no boss! I haven't been to a DARS launch in over 2 years. Covid, weather and other commitments always got in the way of a launch. I have 5 rockets that have not flown yet and over 10 in the build pile. I hope to launch a few during DARS November launch. In my semiretirement, I have been shooting my weapons, putting on firework shows, working on my N scale model RR, and of course my photography. Life is great. Here is a link to my Rhode Island shoot:

Nicholas Viggiano on Behance
Click to expand...
AWRIGHT THE NEXT TIME YOU GO ON A SHOOT LIKE THAT, I'M GOING TOO! ;) 😆
Sounds like you've got some great things going on there. Blessings to you!
 
Congrats! My first retirement will be in a year. I hope to share a part of your exhilaration. I too hope to have more time to dedicate to rockets and my hobbies.
 
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