A Recipe for Retirement Eludes Many

I recently reached a milestone that’s fast becoming out of reach for many. I was able to retire. I left work with mixed feelings about it as I said good-by to people whom I have known for over 15 years. I’ve been a social worker at a center for developmentally challenged adults. When many of my co-workers said that they will never be able to retire, I felt guilty for my good fortune.
Wondering if many people throughout the USA feel they’ll never retire, I checked some polls. I have never been asked to participate in a poll and I don’t know anyone who has. Thus, I don’t have too much faith in their efficacy. I’ve always wondered how people get chosen to be in them, but I didn’t want my small sample to speak for everyone. Lacking a better choice, I checked out some polls.

According to a poll done by the American Institute of CPA’s in April, 20ll, four out of ten people say they will never be able to retire. According to World Countries News, which claims its source is NPR, one in four baby boomers say they will never be able to retire. According to a Gallup Poll also from April 2011, only 41% of people feel they would have enough money to retire comfortably and 53% would never retire.

 It seems that people who feel financially able to retire are becoming scarcer. Does it have to do with our growing economic inequality? Just maybe. I had planned to volunteer as a way to give back anyway and this makes the need more urgent. Nevertheless, there are so many volunteer choices that I am going to take the next few months to decide how I want to spend my volunteer time. Any suggestions are welcome. I’ll talk about any good suggestions in this space.       

 In this relaxed mood, I tried a new easy recipe for pasta and roast vegetables that I got from the Chicago Tribune. It serves 4 and takes about 20 minutes to prepare.

                                          Pasta with Roasted Vegetables

¼ cup olive oil

1 medium eggplant cut into 11/2 inch cubes
4 cloves of garlic peeled and smashed
freshly ground pepper, basil, oregano, and garlic powder to taste
4 small zucchini in 1-inch cubes
2 medium red onions, halved, sliced an inch thick
1 pint grape tomatoes
8 ounces short pasta
½ cup grated parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 425. Drizzle olive oil on a baking sheet and put in the oven while preheating. Put seasoning on all the vegetables.

Meanwhile, put up water to boil for the pasta. When the water is boiled, add pasta to boil.

After the oven is preheated, put the eggplant and garlic on the baking sheet to cook. About 10 minutes later, add the other vegetables. Cook for another 10 minutes.

Drain the pasta. Put back in pot. Add the cooked vegetables and the grated cheese. Voila!