
Indiana's Oldest State Worker Is Retiring at 102 - js2
https://www.npr.org/2020/01/17/797305975/indianas-oldest-state-worker-is-retiring-at-102-i-ve-been-a-pretty-lucky-guy
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mmsimanga
> "I try to be right with people," Vollmer explains, saying he has always kept
> a lesson he received from his father: "If anybody does anything for you,
> helps you in any way, be sure and say thank you."

> "And I remembered that when I grew up," he adds. "Maybe I might go overboard
> sometime in saying thank you, but I assure you, that's very important. And
> my dad's the one that put me straight on that."

That's similar advice to what my mother always told me. For me the unspoken
part of this advice is that it leads to you not expecting much from people.
Not in a bad way, in the way that everyone has their own life and problems.
They wake up in the morning to tackle their own life and problems and when
they do take the time to do something for you be grateful because the do it by
choice. Thanking people was a big part of African life accompanied by gestures
such as clapping hands in a particular way and using poetic language to thank
person. Seems to be a dying practice. People seem to complain more about
things people haven't done for them.

~~~
phaemon
Where in Africa? And what was the custom? I'm always interested in customs
from different places.

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mmsimanga
I am from Zimbabwe, the area around the Victoria Falls. I have lived in South
Africa for the last 15 years though.

By way of example say my brother in law gives my mother a present or does
something for her. Typically my mother will accept the gift and then after
supper when the whole family is seated she will thank my brother in law in
front of everyone in our family. It is not uncommon to have the present if is
is a present shown to everyone. The point here is to ensure that the whole
family is aware of this good deed my brother in law has done. She will thank
him then ask the rest of us to help her thank him. The rest of us will also
thank him. The point being here we all acknowledge and see what you have done
for our mother. The thanking itself can get poetic.

Last year I delivered some money sent to some rural aunts of mine by cousin
working in the US (about US$ 20 each) . I made a video of each one of them
saying thank you. One of the videos ended up being close to five minutes and I
had to ask my aunt to stop because the file was going to be too big to send.
Hope that gives idea of the old culture of thanking.

~~~
WalterBright
This sounds really nice. Thank you for posting it!

------
ourmandave
_...after nearly six decades at Indiana 's Department of Natural Resources._

I was trying to estimate how big his pension checks will be but the online
Indiana Retirement Benefit calculator only let's you put in birth dates back
100 years. =)

[https://myinprsretirement.org/calculators/retirement-
benefit...](https://myinprsretirement.org/calculators/retirement-
benefit/perf/)

Scare Headline: Indiana Retirement System Broken by Oldest Retiree.

~~~
Spooky23
They are almost always capped to avoid that situation for normal employees.

~~~
usrusr
Even if it's not capped, his total pensions will likely be much lower than
those of someone who retires at 70 and lives to 90.

What we don't know is where on the range between being irreplaceably
productive and being an overpaid team mascot who uses the office as an elder
daycare his last year's fell, I'd be surprised if it wasn't a bit of both.
(not pointing fingers, there are days when I feel like I'm guilty of that
myself, and I'm more than sixty years younger)

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wyclif
Former land surveyor here. I "retired" young from surveying in 2008 when the
recession happened in the commercial property market and became a web
developer.

This guy is remarkable. I wonder what kind of land surveying he's been doing.
I'm guessing geodetic or GPS/GIS, which is not as physically demanding.
Property staking, engineering, forestry, and traffic surveying requires a lot
of upper body strength, line cutting/bushwhacking, driving, and walking.

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scandox
I have a 93 year old colleague. I think it says a lot about my employer. They
value people and experience.

~~~
tasogare
I once met a 93 (maybe 96) old woman working in a lab. I don’t know under
which status she is employed, but her dedication to the project is amazing and
her contribution unmatched by any other members (nor the total sum of every
other contributors).

~~~
gen_greyface
You should have befriended her, I'm sure that lady would've shared some wisdom
with you and you would have a great friend.

~~~
tasogare
Don't worry, I wrote the story like I never saw her again, but I actually did
once. Also have her email and I'm in semi-regular contact with the project
leader she works daily with.

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onetimemanytime
_" I've got a lot of things planned,"_ with this attitude, I really hope you
have a lot more years to see them come to fruition.

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WalterBright
"60 Minutes" once interviewed a 102 year old research chemist tottering about
his lab. They asked him why he didn't retire. He replied why should I retire,
I love doing research!

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gwbas1c
My grandfather died last year at 102; but unlike Mr. Vollmer, he retired
young.

I'm always impressed when I see people that age up-and-about. My grandfather
drove until his late 90's, and was still relatively active until a few months
before his 100th birthday.

He gave me the best advice about raising children: "Remember, they're people
too!"

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cosmodisk
I suggest watching an interview with Eva Zeisel and how sound her mind is:
[https://www.ted.com/talks/eva_zeisel_the_playful_search_for_...](https://www.ted.com/talks/eva_zeisel_the_playful_search_for_beauty/up-
next)

