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Pension

‘Another week closer to the pension.’

On every Friday afternoon at five

Old ‘Grandad’ in the office would say that.

At first we were shocked, in our boyish ways;

It seemed to us that he had given up.

What he said was, of course, completely true,

And applied to all without exception,

But he was getting near to the finish,

Which made the countdown to the line more real,

While we had barely left the starting blocks.

Such notions were a forest, unexplored.

One Monday morning, he did not appear,

And soon we were informed he’d passed away.

Just ten weeks short of sixty-five, they said.

It did not help. Close, but not close enough.

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Nureyev ►

Comments

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Stephen Gospage

Tue 22nd Feb 2022 18:00

Thank you, Michelle. Your comments are really appreciated. Yes, it is rather dark in the end. It is based on an amalgam of characters I knew during my working life.

Thanks again.

Steve.

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Michelle Cote

Mon 21st Feb 2022 15:19

It is a sad ending but as someone else mentioned here in the comments, at least the hope of retirement kept him going. The older I get the younger 65 is!!

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Stephen Gospage

Sun 20th Feb 2022 17:05

Sad, as you say, John but I'm pleased you found a silver lining of hope. Yes, Greg, retirement at sixty-five has gone for many people. It has given me the idea for a short story about a man who can never retire because the government keep increasing the retirement age just as he is about to go, until of course....

Thanks for the comments and thanks to Nigel, New Shoes, Rudyard and Holden for the likes.

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John Botterill

Sat 19th Feb 2022 19:29

A sad story, Stephen, but at least the hope of a pension kept him going. We all need hope!

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Greg Freeman

Sat 19th Feb 2022 09:54

Especially as the government keep moving the goalposts ...

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Stephen Gospage

Fri 18th Feb 2022 17:49

Indeed, Clare. Thanks for your like and also to Steve for his.

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Clare

Fri 18th Feb 2022 17:45

Carpe diem!

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