This is a message from a boomer buddy. I would like to share it with you. Also, I would like you to forward to your friends. Please remember we are all getting OLD and if we don't do something now right now, We never will.
As a raise last year, Seniors got 2/5 th of 1% on their Canada Pension and 0% on the Old Age Security.
The Canadian citizens who saved and created pensions are treated worse than those who arrived and seem to know how to get freebies from our system, like medical, pensions, bus passes, dental, medicals.........yet some have contributed little or nothing..........their funds are off shore or not existent..........is this fair?
HOW TRUE IS THIS!
We're "broke" & can't help our own Seniors, Homeless, Veterans, Orphans, etc. ?????
This is so pathetically true...in the last month we have provided aid to Haiti , Chile , and Turkey ..
Now Pakistan , the same people who will turn around and build the IED's that kill our troops.
Also another boat load of refugees has arrived from Sri Lanka who will get aid that should go to the CANADIAN people who have worked all their lives to make this the country it is today.
This year, over 8000 refugees that we know have snuck into Canada through ports and airports and all of whom will eventually get various aid from governments.
Our retired seniors living on fixed income receive no aid while our government and religious organizations pour hundreds of millions of dollars and tons of food to foreign countries.
We have hundreds of adoptable children who are shoved aside to make room for the adoption of foreign orphans.
Why are so many CANADIAN citizens, and the CANADIAN government, so star struck they won't provide for our own?
CANADA: a country where we have homeless without shelter, children going to bed without eating, elderly going without needed meds, and mentally ill without treatment - yet we have a benefit for the people of Haiti on 12 TV stations, ships and planes lining up with food, water, tents, clothing, bedding, doctors and medical supplies.
Imagine if we gave ourselves the same support that we gave all of these other countries.
I feel bad for them, but I also care about CANADA and our Seniors who developed this great country,only to be forgotten.
Sad isn't it?
99% of people won't have the guts to forward this. I'm not one of them.....
How about you??
If you are planning retirement,
let me share retirement experiences with you,
which I hope will be helpful.
Fifteen years ago my wife and I moved into a retirement development on Florida's Southeast coast - The Delray/Boca/Boynton Golf, Spa, Bath and Tennis Club on Lake Fake-A-Hatchee. There are 3000 lakes in Florida; only three are real.
Our biggest retirement concern was time management. What were we going to do allday? Let me assure you, passing the time is not a problem. Your days will be eaten up by simple, daily activities. Just getting out of your car takes 15 minutes. Trying to find where you parked takes 20 minutes. It takes 1/2 hour on the check-out line in and one hour to return the item the next day.
Let me take you through a typical day. We get up at 5:00 AM, have a quick breakfast and join the early morning 'Walk and Talk Club.' There are about 30 of us, and rain or shine we walk around the streets, all talking at once. Every development has some late risers who stay in bed until 6 AM. After a nimble walk avoiding irate drivers out to make us road kill, we go back home, shower and change for the next activity.
My wife goes directly to the pool for her underwater Pilateâs class, followed by gasping for breath and CPR. I put on my, 'Ask me about my Grandchildren' T-shirt, my plaid mid-calf shorts, my black socks and sandals and go to the clubhouse lobby for a nice nap.
Before you know it, it's time for lunch. We go to to partake of the many tasty samples dispensed by ladies in white hairnets. All free! After a filling lunch, if we don't have any doctor appointments, we might go to the flea market to see if any new white belts have come in or to buy a Rolex watch for $2.00.
We're usually back home by 2 PM to get ready for dinner. People start lining up for the early bird about 3 PM, but we get there by 3:45 PM, because we're late eaters. The dinners are very popular because of the large portions they serve. You can take home enough food for the next day's lunch and dinner, including extra bread, crackers, packets of mustard, relish, ketchup and Sweet-and-Low along with mints..
At 5:30 PM we're home ready to watch the 6 o'clock news. By 6:30 PM we're fast asleep. Then we get up and make 5 or 6 trips to the bathroom during the night, and it's time to get up and start a new day all over again.
Doctor related activities eat up most of your retirement time. I enjoy reading old magazines in sub-zero temperatures in the waiting room, so I don't mind. Calling for test results also helps the days fly by. It takes at least half an hour just getting through the doctor's phone menu. Then there's the hold time until you're connected to the right party. Sometimes they forget you're holding, and the whole office goes off to lunch.
Should you find you still have time on your hands, volunteering provides a rewarding opportunity to help the less fortunate. Florida has the largest concentration of seniors under five feet tall and they need our help. I myself am a volunteer for 'The Vertically Challenged Over 80.' I coach their basketball team, The Arthritic Avengers.
The hoop is only 4.5 feet from the floor.
You should see the look of confidence on their faces when they make a slam dunk.
Food shopping is a problem for short seniors or 'bottom feeders' as we call them, because they can't reach the items on the upper shelves. There are many foods they've never tasted. After shopping, most seniors can't remember where they parked their cars and wander the parking lot for hours while their food defrosts.
Lastly, it's important to choose a development with an impressive name. Italian names are very popular in Florida . They convey world traveler, uppity sophistication and wealth. Where would you rather live? Murray's Condos or The Lakes Of Venice ? There's no difference. They're both owned by Murray, who happens to be a cheapskate.
I hope this material has been of help to you (current or) future retirees. If I can be of any further assistance, please look me up when you're in Florida . I live in The Leaning Condos of Pisa on Boynton Beach .
