Kentucky by Heart: Retirement takes many forms, from fishing to coffee with friends… or even ‘work’

By Steve Flairty
NKyTribune columnist

I’m guessing I’ll never have what many call a “regular” retirement, at least the kind where one does such things as fishing, traveling out of the country, or perhaps sitting down on weekday mornings at McDonalds with friends, talking and drinking coffee.

I’m not knocking any of the three. Those are probably good, well-deserved choices for many and I salute them. But they’re usually not for me. I am not wired that way.

Though being categorized as a workaholic is probably too strong, the personal need to be “productive” abides in this son of two parents who taught me — by word and action — to proceed in that fashion.

So, what is my “non-retirement retirement like”? If you’re interested, here goes. I’ll even take questions later if you’d like.

I “retired” from my 28-year career as a Kentucky public school educator in 2003. Though still gratified by teaching, my hankering to do published writing drew me away. I indeed knew I would miss the classroom — and I did, immediately. But pursuing a writing career would be a way to “expand my classroom,” I told myself. And in a way, it did.

In talking about it today, I often tell people I’ve loved two careers. Both, in a sense, are about teaching. You might already have some ideas about the first career; please allow me to share some background on that “second” teaching career, then talk about the daily workings of it as I proceed these days.

The plan in leaving the classroom was to eventually write and publish a book. I knew for certain that much more practice time was needed to develop my writing skills. So, for the first few years, I was content to do freelance magazine writing and, gratefully, received numerous gigs. For sure, there was not much money in it, but it proved personally gratifying.

Then, in 2005, a new and positive twist came into the process.

A friend introduced me to the inspiring story of Tim Farmer, a man who lost the use of his right arm in a motorcycle accident but proved to be an amazing overcomer. Tim adapted to his physical challenges and became a popular, long-time TV host of the outdoors hunting show, Kentucky Afield. Summarily, I wrote a Kentucky Monthly article on Tim, and it developed later into my first book, Tim Farmer: A Kentucky Woodsman Restored.

After writing the bio, I started a book series, Kentucky’s Everyday Heroes, in 2008. It would eventually consist of five volumes plus a kids’ version. With volume five being the last published in 2019, I’ve concentrated more recently on writing these weekly Kentucky by Heart (KBH) columns, which are fun, but do demand a good deal of time. Along with KBH, I regularly write book reviews for Kentucky Monthly (always having at least two books in process!). I also contribute to Kentucky Living and occasionally to Jamie Vaught’s Kentucky Sports Style website.

Doing published writing has led me to lots of speaking opportunities across the state, where I share about everyday heroes from my book series. Venues include community service organizations, church and teacher groups. Speaking gigs also allow me opportunities to sell books. I also occasionally sub teach in public schools, where I often share about writing life.

I tell people these days that at age 72, I’m almost as busy as I’ve ever been, but with one major difference. Today, there’s more flexibility in what I choose to do. I’m generally free to choose how much and what I write about, where I choose to speak, and for what days I simply “take off” and do something else. While I was a classroom teacher, in comparison, I needed to grab a teacher colleague to watch my students when needing a restroom break! Time was a constant factor to consider during the school day, before or after. Faculty meetings, anyone? Paper grading? Extra-curriculars?

I have more flexibility now, usually writing at home and going to the bathroom when needed — and no one needs to watch my writing chair while I’m away.

The daily writing schedule/process starts with what I call “pre-writing activities.” Up at 7:00 or before, I listen online to a morning Christian devotional, a Spanish lesson (100 hours annually), and read or listen to Kentucky history books or video presentations (200 hours annually). Often, weather permitting, I walk for exercise outside for about twenty-five minutes and listen to more Spanish or Kentucky history. Also, during the prewriting time, I read current review books for at least fifteen to thirty minutes. Then, at about 10:00 a.m., the “real” writing begins.

I typically choose my Kentucky by Heart (KBH) column topic on Monday, with the goal being to write the introduction, about 200 words. On following days, I slightly increase my word goals, depending on my research needs. “Research” includes personal interviews, source reading, and sometimes location trips. By Friday, I generally have accumulated about a thousand words, roughly an average column wordage. This allows time for editing, picture gathering, and possible extra information coming in before my submission deadline, usually Sunday night.

With the book reviews, it takes a couple of sittings to finish. I find that allowing “fresh eyes” between writing sittings works much better than simply knocking them off at one time. I strive to be fair to book authors, though my “reviews” tend to be book synopses rather than actual hard evaluations.

Daily, I strive to have my serious writing time over by one or two o’clock, but even afterward, I snatch small amounts of time to tweak writings, research more, and look for writing ideas for the future.

As everyone knows, there are plenty of other non-writing life activities for which to tend. Here’s a partial list of mine:

Some may think this is a bit of a work-heavy way of spending a retirement, but it is quite fulfilling for people like me with simple tastes and a passion to write. I have few regrets and hope what I do uplifts others.

And don’t forget, this model has flexibility along the way and allows for restroom breaks. To me, that’s better than receiving a gold watch any day.