Originally Posted by
Stoplight
Well, times have changed since the days when I was in the Air Force, or first started as a Fed. I'm glad to see that Nasa1974 appears to be getting the respect he deserves, after his years with the Agency, and that his Agency still has their "traditions".
I've felt strongly that anyone who makes it to 20 (military), 30, 40 or more years deserves some respect, even if I thought the guy was a jerk ! However, it seems like about the late 90's, that the "attitude" started changing....hanging in there for a long time, and "retiring", just didn't seem to have the same "honor from your peers" that it did before. I think it's a broader comment on how "society" has changed, too...early in my career, it was normal for co-workers to meet after work on Fridays for "Happy Hour", whether you were a drinker or not... You "socialized" more with your co-workers, too...now days, every one has their own little world outside of their "job", and the lines are rarely crossed. Teleworking, "virtual teams", and the internet has taken away a lot of the face-to-face interaction that I liked. I'm not making a judgement call, just saying it's "different", and I personally don't like it as much as the "Good Old Days"...
In my case...I was offered a retirement luncheon, but I chose not to go that route...they usually make some poor young employee responsible for doing the logistics, and everyone grumbles about the cost, etc. Also, I've only been with this Agency 3 years, and to me, that hardly qualifies as a big Agency retirement ! Instead, they lumped me and another retiring guy into the monthly staff meeting, where we got our certificates and a plaque, 1 month before I am actually out the door !!! Granted, I said I didn't WANT a special luncheon, but I thought there'd be something a little more "specific" for the other guy and I...maybe a cake and coffee get-together at lunch time on my last work day ! Oh well...as I noted, "times have changed" !
Stoplight...
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