I have long thought that life is backwards...we shoud go out and enjoy ourselves in our youth, and amass great debt which we work off thru old age. This work in youth, retirement in old age is just plain Effing backward! So maybe you have something, with the theory about the guy 'retiring' in 1969 at a young age. That, or he *is* Methuselah now.
I retired from the U. S. Navy in 1969 after 19 years service. Yes, I'm a lot older now (88). Farm kids like me grew up with memories of the great depression. Thinking of our late teens and our twenties as the time to mostly have fun seemed foolish. Instead, while still 17, I enlisted in the Navy so the later years might be secure. It worked well. My modest retirement income is plenty in an area where my cozy 40-year-0ld 2 BR 2 bath trailer cost $28,000. Rent for that much room might be higher for just one year in some parts of the country.
By the time one graduates from high school, they should have a good idea of where they need to go and how to get there. Then they should work hard to make it happen. They may not have the experience they need, but they have the energy to work for it. That youthful energy is a valuable resource. Use it wisely instead of wasting it on fun and games. I sure don't have such energy now!
I hadn't planned ahead in 1950, but the Navy offered training and security, After a few years, the path forward became obvious. There were sacrifices, too. I never saw my family and childhood friends for up to two years at a time. At first all of my possessions had to fit into a 65 pound seabag. I was told where to go and what to do with no recourse until the end of an enlistment. There was the possibility of danger, especially in wartime. However, it may have have been safer than being in a crowd of civilian kids bent on irresponsible fun and games. Life is good, especially if we make it so.
