The Foreign Service Journal, January 2006

FEMA in 2005 as a result of Hurricane Katrina. Pretty soon, it was impossible to go anywhere in town without knowing someone. The problem was learning how to say no to some activities when people realized I was retired and available. I tried one paying position as a 911 dispatcher in the sheriff’s office, but decided I really liked setting my own priorities each day. I did not take the Retirement Seminar as I had not intended to go after employment in a formal way. Rather, I just wanted to move to Red Lodge, let life unfold and pitch in any way I could to help the com- munity and fulfill my needs for physical and mental activity. I was looking forward to perpetual home leave without deadlines, and hardly noticed a transition and didn’t experience an identity crisis. After a couple of years, though, I found that I missed the Foreign Service Journal as a way of keeping up with my former life. My dealings with the Retirement Division were very easy. They handled all the paperwork and my questions without a hitch, and continue to do so. Living in this small town and its greater community is not lonely or boring. I truly loved the Foreign Service, but there really is another life out here. And I’m enjoying it thoroughly! Wanda Kennicott Red Lodge, Mont. utu A Cautionary Tale Four years after “retiring” from the Foreign Service, I’m in the kind of job that I imagined when I walked out of the doors of Main State for the last time. I’m the executive vice-president of the Santa Rosa (Calif.) Chamber of Commerce, working on government rela- tions and economic development. In the middle of some of the best vineyards on the planet, part of my job is to drink great wine and eat gourmet dinners. It’s like what we hoped the diplomatic reception circuit would F O C U S J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 6 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 61 SERVING THOSE WHO SERVE AMERICA S I NCE 1 9 7 1 2006 represents our 36 th year helping to maintain America’s fleet of vehicles throughout the world. All of us at D & M consider it an honor to have worked with all of you through these years. We are aware of the importance of your official and private vehicles, forklifts, generators, tools and equipment. We look forward to continuing this service in a professional manner. We are here to help, just ask! Gary Vlahov www.dmauto.com (516) 822-6662; FAX: (516) 822-5020; E-mail: info@dmauto.com