Retirement: First Impressions

The Dow is down more than 500 points.

The unemployment rate will almost certainly stay above 9 percent when the new numbers come out tomorrow.

A double dip recession may be on the way.

And I've just retired. Not sure whether that's a good thing or a bad thing in this economy. I have to say, I was smart in one respect: In rolling over one of my 401k's to an IRA, I decided to keep the money on the sideline until the debt ceiling crisis was resolved.

Well, now it's resolved and we're still going in the tank. I think I'll sit on the sidelines with that IRA for a while longer. The other IRA's? Well, they're toast.

Other than that, retirement's going well. I get up a little later, I run a looser schedule, I get around to more things that I like to do--writing, gardening, bicycling, working out, golfing, going to restaurants--and I don't have to constantly be looking at my watch.

Not a bad life. We'll see how it goes when we hit five months of winter.

The other joy of retirement that I've noticed: I don't shave and shower until noontime some days. I can wear a T-shirt, shorts and sandals. No concern for appearances.

Who knows, pretty soon I may be that crazy, doddering, unkempt old man who's talking to himself as he's stumbling down the sidewalk. And that likelihood will surely increase if the Dow continues to plummet and takes my hard-earned life savings with it.