Dear colleagues and friends,
You may or may not know, but I turned 65 a couple of years ago. It came as a bit of a shock. Those decadal millstones [sic] we encounter throughout our lives, they are nothing compared to turning 65 — 30, 40, 50, even 60, they are all just numbers, the chance to receive some ignoble reminder on your front lawn that you are, as Joni Mitchell says, “captive on the carousel of time.”*
65 is different.
Turning 65 is one of the few birthdays that actually seems to have implications. Yes, turning 16 means getting your driver’s license (not as momentous as it once was), turning 18 means being able to drink legally (at least in my day), but then there’s really nothing until you turn 65, regardless of what marketers and that nagging inner voice might say. Because turning 65, along with gaining access to a whole raft of nifty discounts, means having to move on: to greener fields, or to pasture, depending on your outlook.
So it is with mixed emotions that I share the news of my retirement from the University of Guelph. It is more than a bit scary, but it’s not the first time I’ve changed horses on life’s merry-go-round, and there are still many painted ponies to ride as well as much unfinished business that needs finishing.
I didn’t want to go without acknowledging the collegiality and friendship I have experienced since arriving at the University of Guelph. A university is a wonderful place to work. A true place of knowledge and I certainly have learned a lot over the years, while hopefully contributing my share in return. One of the hidden perks is finding out about peoples’ research and interests. I will never think about ants, Jesuits, Snowy Owls, lateral gene transfer, thyroids, Steven Pinker, Macs, coffee, ultimate frisbee, chopping onions, transnational migration, or infinity, in quite the same way. Thank you. You have been wonderful people to work with. I sincerely hope to continue the conversations further on down the road. To Damascus, if you’re ever up that way.
* The Circle Game
I wish you all the very best,
— Richard