Do you just "bum around town" as a retired person?

[haha]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PawPrint53 Great exercise, too. I got so I was able to walk up Queen Anne hill without breathing heavily. So, yeah, bumming around town can be a lot of fun.

Congratulations on that one! That is a killer hill. I live on Capitol Hill but the hills over here are only Queen Anne caliber coming up the east side. And though steep, they are not so long as Queen Anne Avenue coming up from Mercer..

Ha

[COcheesehead]

Quote:

Originally Posted by athena53 Not sure what's odd about it- I feel the same way about Wal-Mart and almost never shop there.

My point was about the old men wandering the aisles, not Walmart. The poster told me I shouldn't go there as a result. Sort of like saying, I saw someone weird on the street and getting a response of "we'll stay off the street".

[NW-Bound]

Quote:

Originally Posted by COcheesehead My point was about the old men wandering the aisles, not Walmart. The poster told me I shouldn't go there as a result. Sort of like saying, I saw someone weird on the street and getting a response of "we'll stay off the street".

I often have to wander the aisles because I do not know where they put the stuff. And if I am not in a hurry, I often look at the products and prices out of curiosity to see how they compare to other stores.

I don't know if I look sad or not, but I do not look old though. Hmm... do I look weird? Dunno.

[ABQ2015]

I rarely go to Walmart but occasionally have to make a visit (e.g., to pick up an item for an elderly or disabled relative that they know is sold at Walmart). And with the exception of a couple of stores in the wealthiest part of the city (which are also the greatest distance from my house), many of the customers are weird and/or scary.

I don't remember seeing older guys wandering the aisles at Walmart but I have recently noticed this at grocery stores that I frequent. Slightly disheveled men in their 50's slowing pushing a shopping cart and sometimes putting items back on the shelf. I suspect these are homeless people or those in a bad financial situation who are taking advantage of the refrigerated air conditioning or just looking for something to do and to interface with regular people. And I suspect the same may be happening at Walmart. Perhaps early retirement gone wrong. Very sad but gives new meaning to bumming around town.

[travelover]

There are a bunch of senior guys that congregate at my local Costco every morning for coffee. I joke with the door guy that this "gang" makes me nervous.

[NW-Bound]

What are you doin' at Costco every morning?

[travelover]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW-Bound What are you doin' at Costco every morning?

I go there to hang out with the gang and get free coffee.

But seriously, I shoot in right at opening to shop on Mondays when it is mostly empty. Maybe I'm the sad ole guy people see roaming the aisles.

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by travelover There are a bunch of senior guys that congregate at my local Costco every morning for coffee. I joke with the door guy that this "gang" makes me nervous.

We went to McDonald's for breakfast a few days ago, for the first time in years. There was a group of about eight ROMEO's (Retired Old Men Eating Out) having such a fun and energetic conversation about "guy stuff" like building and repairing things and so on, at a nearby table. I thought they were just guys having a great time. But afterwards, F wondered why I chose a table near theirs.

Guess we just saw it differently.

[NW-Bound]

F. does not want the ROMEOs to eye his JULIET?

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW-Bound F. does not want the ROMEOs to eye his JULIET?

I think he just didn't find a bunch of 80+ year old guys to be as cute and pleasant to be around, as I thought they were.

[NW-Bound]

Ah hah! It's Juliet who was eying the Romeos. No wonder F. was not too happy.

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW-Bound Ah hah! It's Juliet who was eying the Romeos. No wonder F. was not too happy.

He's a young man, 62 to my 68 years old. So maybe they just seemed like the walking dead to him. I thought it was a good example of how people can be old AND happy AND not lonely, but I think to him they were just one step from the grave.

[karen1972]

I have always done this retired or not. It started at 19 when I lived outside DC, had no car, knew no one and was living with a bunch of rotating foreign Red cross workers. They always had a new spot to check out. Then I lived in Ireland and every weekend I drove to some new town to check it out. Then there was Chicago which well every suburb has its own unique thing and you really can cover the world...never a dull moment.

Now we live in NC and I switch between local stuff, like a hiking group trying to hike every part of the greenways in Raleigh, to day trips to local events (rib fests, beer fests, etc) to the longer weekend trips to check out well anything within a 4 hour drive which leaves a lot of places.

Our plan is to create home base and in another 5 years move and create another home base. I

[samclem]

I go to Walmart occasionally. I go there to buy things, not for the social environment or to improve my station in the societal pecking order. So, I am not bothered by people--young or old, rich or poor--who take their time with their shopping, or if they are just looking at the stuff on the shelves. Nor am I bothered if people want to sit and read quietly in the library, even if their countenance reflects a non-ecstatic mood.

[HFWR]

Nothing wrong with wandering around Walmart. I sometimes detour through the camping area, sporting goods/bicycle stuff, electronics, or the clearance aisle, on my way to get milk and eggs.

Granted, I've seen some interesting characters on occasion...

The ROMEO thing is age old. As a kid I can remember a couple of local diners (i.e. "all") that had a regular gang, not all retired, who had coffee and/or breakfast there pretty much every day. One, at one point, had a coffee club of sorts. Don't remember the particulars, but the "members" had their very own personalized mug, on display on the wall behind the counter.

[Gumby]

Quote:

Originally Posted by samclem I go to Walmart occasionally. I go there to buy things, not for the social environment or to improve my station in the societal pecking order. So, I am not bothered by people--young or old, rich or poor--who take their time with their shopping, or if they are just looking at the stuff on the shelves.

Same here. In fact, I usually don't even notice the other shoppers, unless they are standing in front of the thing I want to buy.

[kcowan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by W2R He's a young man, 62 to my 68 years old. So maybe they just seemed like the walking dead to him. I thought it was a good example of how people can be old AND happy AND not lonely, but I think to him they were just one step from the grave.

Our ROMEO Group walks 3x a week: 10,000 steps and breakfast. Mostly we meet dog-walkers and jogging tourists. We pick a new restaurant each day (because 10k steps gives us lots of range) and are often the first people in the restaurant.

(Often our crowd gets other patrons to try the restaurant. The good-looking babes are all in Pilates or yoga classes.)

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kcowan Our ROMEO Group walks 3x a week: 10,000 steps and breakfast. Mostly we meet dog-walkers and jogging tourists. We pick a new restaurant each day (because 10k steps gives us lots of range) and are often the first people in the restaurant. (Often our crowd gets other patrons to try the restaurant. The good-looking babes are all in Pilates or yoga classes.)

Sounds like a terrific group! I am in awe of your 10K steps, too. I suspect the men in the ROMEO group we saw was about 20 years older than those in your group.

[PawPrint53]

Quote:

Originally Posted by haha Congratulations on that one! That is a killer hill. I live on Capitol Hill but the hills over here are only Queen Anne caliber coming up the east side. And though steep, they are not so long as Queen Anne Avenue coming up from Mercer.. Ha

One Saturday, my DH and I decided to walk from Ballard across the locks to Magnolia, then up the north side of Queen Anne (scary dirt trail with homeless encampments) and down the other side to Westlake, then up Capitol Hill at Denny (stopped at Monsoon for dim sum), down through the Arboreteum, through U District to Ravenna Park, then to Green Lake, and up 73rd to Phinney Ridge (Ridge Pizza) and back down to Ballard. A little over 23 miles. Best part? Frequent food and coffee stops. Gotta keep the energy up!

[ponyboy]

Another reason why its so important to find a balance in your life.

No one should have to put off life experiences because of work. We work to live...not live to work. I realized that when I was around 28...after seeing so many layoffs and surviving each one...the bottom line is if you work for a company you are just a number that can be replaced in a very short amount of time.