Living the Wild and Free Life

           Two the world’s greatest 

         Two of the world's most famous philosophers, Socrates and Plato, advocated a life of total leisure. So does author Ernie Zelinski, and, although he’s not as famous ( or as Greek), he gives some inspirational tips

on how to pull off such a feat. His Joy of Not Working created an international stir a decade ago, and now his How  to  Retire Happy, Wild and Free devotes his joie de vive philosophy solely to retirement.

              Zelinksi is a master at how-to lists. “Activities & Places to Make New Friends” and “How to Take a Journey Close to Home” are a couple of examples. The most extensive list is the “Get a Life Tree,” which contains seven pages of suggested activities for an adventurous retirement. Not one of them involves a couch or TV.

              At times his suggestions seem a little too “wild” and too “free.” For instance, under Travel Tips there are llama trekking in Peru and camping in Outer Mongolia. Can you imagine a glitzy travel poster for either of these as a vacation get-away?

              In The Joy of Not Working you’ll meet a number of interesting people like Ben from Toronto, a former entertainer, who traveled across America in a Greyhound recently ( a dog of a trip!), and wrote a book on the benefits of cayenne pepper, which he says is better than Viagra.  Then there’s Bill and Valerie, who live aboard a sailboat in Hawaii, and Tom, who, at 96, still walks four miles a day and chases women at night.

              The book’s section titles can be quite entertaining. “If You Don’t Take Care of your Body, Where Do You Intend to Live?” is one about daily health maintenance. An even better is one “Early to Bed and Early to Rise Make a Person Dull, Boring and Despised.” The message here is to forget rigid schedules when you retire.  Good point. Retirement is a time to loosen up, live it up and curl up with How to Retire Happy, Wild and Free.