The Foreign Service Journal, April 2006

to be looking for very senior people, such as former ambas- sadors, with corporate contacts to boost their image and fundraising, or for 20-somethings willing to accept very low wages to do junior program work. Getting a grant to write a book on Germany proved impossible; grant-giving founda- tions would consider only writers who were already well known, or a candidate who either had a Ph.D. or was getting one, and I was unwilling to go to the huge expense of spend- ing a year in Germany to do the research on speculation. One of the first things I did was hire a certified financial planner to help figure out whether I needed to work for pay to supplement my annuity, and how much I would have to earn to enjoy the lifestyle I wanted. The answer, to my relief, was: I’d have to do some work, but not full time all year long. Everyone has his or her own preferences, but I would hate a job that tied me down two or three days a week all year long. With money not a primary consideration, I like to have maximum flexibility to take long international trips and engage in other interests. Working full time for part of the year gives me the lifestyle I want. It’s absolutely true that most jobs come from personal contacts. Serendipitously, in 1996 a former Foreign Service supervi- sor suggested I apply to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which was recruiting public affairs people at the time. I was hired within a few months to do intermittent assignments around the country. A number of other retired FSOs have also done this work for FEMA, whose regional offices hire intermittent people — called “Stafford Act Employees,” somewhat like WAEs at State — to do everything from personnel work to disaster housing programs and keeping the computer systems running. (I feel compelled to note, as the result of my experience at FEMA, that the organizational, systemic and leadership problems plaguing the agency are recent and seldom the fault of those out in the trenches.) In 1998, another former colleague mentioned that the Foreign Service Grievance Board was seeking new mem- bers. I wound up on contract there for four years. Neither this job nor FEMA was anything I had thought about doing; but both offered new experiences, the chance to meet won- derful, talented people and the extra income that enabled me to do many things I enjoy. Unfortunately, I was unable to tap into the WAE program at State until very recently, and opportunities there now seem to have largely dried up. But a call from the blue led to a recent, very short-term job that has opened some doors to exploring possibilities in new areas. Places to Go, Wishes to Fulfill I detest the phrase “I keep busy,” which seems to imply that life is so empty that one has to search for something, even with little meaning, to fill the time. I find that sad and short-sighted, like the comment from a German friend who declined to take a course in something in which she was interested because — in her 60s — she thought she was “too old to learn.” I plan to keep right on learning until I’m at least 90. There are so many won- derful organizations out there, from the Smithsonian to the World Affairs Council, not to mention retirement programs, libraries, the Internet and community colleges, that anyone with a curious mind and reasonable health has virtually endless choices for continuing edu- cation. Like many of my friends, I now wonder how I ever had the time to work full time. There are so many things to which we can turn our attention and skills that it is a matter of choosing what each of us finds meaningful and perhaps fun. Being a contributing member of society is very important to me. I began exploring and have never stopped changing focus as opportunities either appear on my doorstep or, once I have defined a goal, are found through systematic searching. When I retired, I made a list of places I had always want- ed to go but had never visited, and those I wanted to revis- it. I have been to a number of them already, from Australia to Thailand; the Galapagos and Serengeti are next. I also listed unfulfilled aspirations such as creative writing, researching and writing a family history, taking up skiing again, reading more international literature and social sci- ence books, being more active in my church, taking up scuba diving and learning wildlife photography. I particularly want- ed to contribute to international education, which I have always thought is the best thing we do in foreign affairs. Today, the family history is nearly complete. I’m enjoy- ing my parabolic skis in Colorado and Utah. I earned my advanced PADI diving certification at age 56, and have dived on the Great Barrier Reef. My shelves are so stuffed with books on everything from Islam to Australian literature and photo albums that they threaten to topple over, and I recently completed an interfaith pilgrimage to Israel. And this is the sixth year I have been a volunteer evaluator for FLEX, an international youth exchange program. A P R I L 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 67 With money not a primary consideration, I like to have maximum flexibility. Working full time for part of the year gives me the lifestyle I want. — Carolyn V. Meirs