When you reach the age of retirement, and can have that earned rest –
It isn’t time for sadness, you’ll find these years can be the best.
You’re leaving the auto city, with its rush, its smoke and its noise
You’re traveling back to the Ozarks, where you lived as a girl and a boy.
There’ll be many old friends to chat with, there’ll always be new ones to meet –
There’ll be time to recall those yesteryears, and now smile at what once was defeat,
You’ll no longer find yourself rushing, to punch that “Chevy” time card –
But you’ll still find yourself working when you hear Annie say “Mow the yard”.
And know may I say, “We’ll miss you, though our visits were few each year –
It was always nice to drop in now and then, and a comfort to know you were here,
May I say that you’ll both be remembered, by my family in a special way –
For your many kind acts, our thanks in words, could never be conveyed.
I’m sure none of us here wish to say good-bye, so in closing I’ll add this line –
So Long! Good Luck! Happy Days to you! And come back to see sometime”.

Gaylia Kenslow – Stogsdill
Written for longtime friends upon their retirement

Copyright Roy Richard