Retirement of Things

By Solti

Recently I experienced retirement for three things. People say they retire, but what about the retirement of things?

One is a hook for opening and closing the window. I have been living in a house for over 30 years, but one day, the lock on the glass window in the bathroom was worn out after using it for a long time and it broke. I had a hard time finding a shop specializing in windows and doors that sold the products, and I bought it because the broken metal ring had long since retired and now a product replaced with a special plastic is being produced. Although it is a very small part, the price was over $20, and the replacement of the lock ring was successfully completed using a screwdriver.

The next one was also the retirement of the loyal mailboxes used to hold mail to be delivered or sent home for over 30 years. In the United States, postal delivery departments mainly deliver postal mail using the US Postal Service's postal delivery truck. In most cases, the mail is pulled out or put in the mailbox without getting out of the car and the mailbox is destroyed often. The lid of the mailbox at home was ragged and it was painted several times, so I took out the completely broken one and luckily found a new product of the same model in a nearby store. I'm thinking of recycling my old, retired mailbox as a toolbox.

The third item is an outdated typewriter from the computer age. I had a chance of talking to an elderly student who was taking my class last spring semester. We came up talking about hobbies and I said that I was interested in a typewriter. After finishing the semester, one day he emailed me that he would give me a recently retired IBM typewriter in his office. Thankfully, he drove the old typewriter himself to my office and told me that he is so happy now because his favorite thing had found a new home.

These days, when COVID continues to sweep the globe, we hear about retirement frequently. Thinking only of people's retirement I have recently experienced a series of product retirements with my own hands.

A period of 30 years is roughly called one generation, and although the products differ depending on the type, household items generally need to be replaced if they are used for 30 years. I just live with the thought that it will work naturally, and without much thought, various things I use every day break down one by one around me, and I end up throwing them away, repairing, or replacing them.

I think people are like this, too. Although each person is slightly different, they study for 30 years, work for 30 years, retire, and enjoy leisure and freedom in life after that. Aren't they screened, treated as needed, and in some cases replaced body parts as in the case of decayed or broken teeth? Recently, I tried to write down my thoughts while watching the retirement of things around me and experiencing it with my own body. There is no doubt that continuous and thorough management of any object or person is very important in order to achieve the desired function or lead a healthy life. ***

July 20, 2022