Category: Retirement

Fiction/Humor Retirement

Sports in the Age of Orthopedics

By Rich Marin | by Rich Marin

Pickleball has become extremely popular and continues to be America’s fastest-growing sport. According to the Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA) Topline Participation Report, there were an estimated 19.8 million pickleball players in the United States in 2024, which represents a 45.8% increase from 2023 numbers. Pickleball has been named the fastest-growing sport in the US for the fourth consecutive year. The growth has been phenomenal over the past few years, with participation increasing by…

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Memoir Retirement

Croquet Picnic

By Rich Marin | by Rich Marin

Croquet as a sport has a fascinating history dating back several centuries. It’s thought of as an elegant lawn game that developed in Victorian England and is played in whites like tennis used to be played. Croquet appears to have evolved from a French peasant game called “paille-maille” (pall-mall) played in Languedoc in the 13th century. Players used mallets to hit wooden balls through hoops made of willow branches. By the 17th century, a similar…

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Love Memoir Retirement

Why Do I Exist?

By Rich Marin | by Rich Marin

This is a profound philosophical question that has been pondered throughout human history. There are many perspectives on why humans exist, depending on different philosophical, religious, scientific, and cultural viewpoints. From an evolutionary perspective, humans exist as a result of natural selection and biological processes that have unfolded over millions of years. We didn’t come into being for a purpose; rather, we emerged through evolutionary mechanisms. That is the definition of Darwinism and it exhibits…

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Fiction/Humor Retirement

Wasting Away Without Margaritaville

By Rich Marin | by Rich Marin

Jimmy Buffett’s “Margaritaville” is one of the most iconic songs in popular culture, often associated with a carefree, beach-focused lifestyle. The song itself has its own cultural impact that has been substantial and multi-faceted. It defines the “Island Escapism” Lifestyle, crystallizing a specific American fantasy – escaping the rat race for a laid-back tropical paradise where worries melt away with frozen drinks and ocean breezes. In keeping with yesterday’s story, it is, perhaps, the best…

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Memoir Retirement

Il Dolce Far Niente

By Rich Marin | by Rich Marin

It’s a rainy day here on the hilltop. It’s been raining steadily all day and without stop, which is unusual. It took a few days to get over my travel drudge, but starting yesterday I have been at full strength and ready to dig into my next projects. Yesterday was about the movies and dinner, but today was supposed to be about getting things done. But instead, I’ve chosen to be prudent and avoid the…

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Fiction/Humor Memoir Retirement

Cruise Control

By Rich Marin | by Rich Marin

We, like so many people, used to say that we were not cruise people. It’s funny how that has changed over time and once you get a look at the people who do cruise you understand that unless you are going on Carnival, Celebrity or Disney (all of which tend to cater to families with kids), the adult cruise lines have an older demographic. Our choice of cruise lines is the one that gets consistently…

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Business Advice Retirement

Privatizing Retirement

By Rich Marin | by Rich Marin

Thirty years ago I ran the retirement business of Bankers Trust Company. BTCo. was founded in 1903 by J.P. Morgan (the man) and his other banking pals who thought it would be smart to put all their trust business in one institution that he and his pals controlled. BTCo. Grew to become the second largest trust bank in the country. When I was asked to take over the Retirement Services business with it’s 4,000 employees,…

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Fiction/Humor Retirement

Spilling the Dill

By Rich Marin | by Rich Marin

When I lived in Toronto, Canada for two years, I heard more Canadian colloquialisms than I remember hearing anywhere else. My time in Canada was an interesting few years that was a mixture of how to survive a remote distance existence (the kids were still in the Metro NYC area) and yet I needed to be onsite and resident in Toronto and all the other big cities in Canada (Montreal, Calgary and Vancouver, primarily, but…

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