Sir.—My husband, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Virginia's Children's Medical Center, Charlottesville, recently handed me an article by Richard Blumberg, MD,1 entitled "Thoughts on Retiring: Five Years Later." I work at the opposite end of the age spectrum, gerontology.
I applaud Dr Blumberg's suggestions for pediatricians to start a second career in an allied field after retirement. While there are days when we all yearn for the golf course, for the tennis court, or to be away from the fray, the life of retirement can soon become an empty one without purpose. People with type A personalities and workaholics have an especially difficult time leading a life that includes only hobbies; they find it unfulfilling. Add to this the fact that status in our country is closely tied to work, and when one retires one feels demoted in status.
Statisticians tell us that life