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Bok, Edward William, 1863-1930

"A Dutch Boy Fifty Years After"

" While bee-keeping is
unquestionably interesting, there are today other and more vital
occupations awaiting the retired American.
The main thing is to secure that freedom of movement that lets a man go
where he will and do what he thinks he can do best, and prove to
himself and to others that the acquirement of the dollar is not all
there is to life. No man can realize, until on awakening some morning
he feels the exhilaration, the sense of freedom that comes from knowing
he can choose his own doings and control his own goings. Time is of
more value than money, and it is that which the man who retires feels
that he possesses. Hamilton Mabie once said, after his retirement from
an active editorial position: "I am so happy that the time has come
when I elect what I shall do," which is true; but then he added: "I
have rubbed out the word 'must' from my vocabulary," which was not
true. No man ever reaches that point. Duty of some sort confronts a
man in business or out of business, and duty spells "must." But there
is less "must" in the vocabulary of the retired man; and it is this
lessened quantity that gives the tang of joy to the new day.


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