In 2022, Talbot County first heard about a new fourteen-home luxury housing development in the Village of Bellevue, one of twenty-two unincorporated Villages in Talbot County. Bellevue stands out from other villages because it is a predominantly black community with a rich African-American maritime history. It is a quiet, off-the-beaten-path, peaceful community where people are neighborly. 

The villages’ tranquility was shaken when Long Iron Investment Group, LLC, purchased a plot of land in Bellevue with beautiful waterfront views near the ferry in partnership with Paquin Design Build. The land had been on the market for a while. The Ripple family owned the vacant waterfront property, and the investment group waited patiently and eventually bought 15 acres of land for an estimated $2.4M, setting forth what could become the gentrification of Bellevue. 

The development represented a traumatic change for this small, mixed-use waterfront community of about 100 residents and maybe 80, mostly small homes in what is called “Historic Bellevue.” Homes are one to two stories on lots ranging in size from .15 to .7 acres. Community trauma has morphed into a sense of helplessness and resignation. Four of the fourteen luxury homes have been sold. The largest can be 3500 sq ft on a 1.5 acre lot. Water views will be blocked. 100-year-old trees have been cleared and replaced by luxury homes designed for people in another tax bracket. From the project’s onset, there has been a lack of sensitivity and respect for Bellevue’s unique racial history. 

What is happening in Bellevue is a cautionary tale for small, poorer communities that don’t have the time, talent, organization, or capital to organize an effective grassroots effort to slow down development they may not become aware of until it is too late, or how to negotiate with a stealthy, fast-moving developer armed with lawyers and other resources. 

Residents in such communities are not well-versed in the complex regulatory processes involving land use and lot history. They do not attend Talbot County public regulatory or Council meetings. They do not have lawyers or other surrogates monitoring such proceedings over the years, nor do they have any inside information and get bulldozed and blamed for their ignorance. 

The first phase of gentrification can begin with a name. Residents learned that the developer had named the project “North of Oxford” when ads appeared. It was an insulting embrace of the wealthy, white community a short ferry ride away, in place of Bellevue and its historical legacy – so much for community outreach and racial sensitivity. Change is inevitable, but this was too much, too fast. Bellevue was being erased. Imagine naming a development in Harlem, New York, “North of 5th Avenue”, or building luxury homes in Anacostia and calling it South of Georgetown. 

After residents objected to the name and other elements of the plan at a public meeting with the developer at St Luke’s United Methodist Church, Bellevue’s spiritual center, Paquin appropriately renamed the project “Bellevue on the Tred Avon” and renamed streets within the development boundaries after historical references but rejected street names suggested by residents. The rebranding was also an effective public relations move to limit negative racially-tinged press from appearing in Google searches about Bellevue by potential home buyers. In a press release announcing the name change, Brent Paquin, Founder & President of Paquin Design Build, said, “Attending community meetings and engaging local residents plays a major role in fostering tight-knit communities,” oddly making it seem like the heated meeting resulted from planned community outreach rather than community outrage. 

It was a sleeves-off-your-vest concession in response to the community backlash of Paquin’s own making. By the way, the last time a friend checked, the Homeowner’s Association (HOA), which will eventually take over management of the development once all the units are sold, is still called “North of Oxford.” 

If Paquin read the 2017 Bellevue Master Plan, he should have known better. The Plan emphasized, “Although Bellevue is no longer a center of maritime commerce, the village’s significant African-American maritime heritage is still evident and an important historical context that should continue to shape its future.” 

The Bellevue Master Plan focused on balancing the often competing interests of working watermen and new and old residents with the community’s historic African-American legacy. According to the Plan, Bellevue is within the County’s adopted Critical Area Boundary and designated as a Limited Development Area.

The Plan also references the Talbot County Center Design Policies regarding villages, excerpted from the Talbot County Comprehensive Plan, Chapter 9. According to 9.12, “New development and redevelopment in villages should be compatible with the existing character, in terms of land use, density, scale setbacks, mix of use, and general design to maintain their “unique sense of place’.” And added in 9.13, “New village residential development and infills should be designed to be compatible with and complement that of the adjacent or surrounding community. How does a 14-home luxury development with its own HOA align with these village policies? 

The Master Plan provided a detailed history of Bellevue, showing why preserving its cultural heritage is so meaningful and emotional. Two seafood processing facilities, owned and operated by the Turner family, were two of three African-American-owned seafood packing houses on the Eastern Shore (the other being the Coulbourne & Jewett Seafood Packing Plant in St. Michaels). Bellevue first evolved around W.H. Valiant Packing CO., which operated a large seafood and vegetable cannery and packing house from 1889 to 1946. Later, the W.A. Turner and Sons Packing CO and the Bellevue Seafood Company operated from 1945 to 1996 and 1964 to 1998, respectively. The original Bellevue housing stock was for African-American workers at these plants. There even was a general store, gas station, restaurant, and community center. 

However, here we are in the Fall of 2024, and the relationship between the community and the developer is anything but tight-knit. There has been litigation. Tensions have risen as residents sadly watched old trees get chopped down, docks and pools pop up, and the property excavation become more dramatic. All design suggestions made by the community to help better integrate the project with the community at large were rejected or ignored, and now, several luxury homes have appeared. 

Community representatives also suggested creating a short pedestrian pathway for residents from the historic Bellevue community to the Bellevue Landing, where the public Bellevue Park and boat docks are located. The path would weave its way around the perimeter of the development. The Master Plan also recommended such a path. The developer’s help in making this happen would be a meaningful olive branch to the community and public safety measure, eliminating the need for residents to walk along Bellevue Road, which is regularly lined with trucks, boat trailers zooming in and out, and cars from the ferry. However, aspects of creating this pathway have stalled and should be revived. 

The developer should also consider investing in the Bellevue Passage Museum, a new museum created by community members to preserve the Village’s important place in the African-American history on the Eastern Shore. The pathway concept has been incorporated into the Bellevue Passage Museum footprint, which would provide pedestrian access off Orchard Terrace. Imagine walking along the path, with access to the Museum and Bellevue Landing.

I know a lot of developers. Some see the big picture and find a way forward in a complex situation; others just want to bang out a bunch of homes, sell them, hand over management responsibility to an HOA, and move on. I hope the builder and the investors will do the right thing as they did regarding the name change.

The developer should meet with community representatives and find a reasonable way forward. Otherwise, when the builder packs up and leaves, the community will be divided: luxury homeowners with their HOA on one side and the greater Bellevue community on the other. If that fails, Representatives should meet directly with the Long Iron Investment Group investors, the people behind the curtain, who might be more creative in mending fences. If nothing happens, luxury home buyers interested in waterfront property should look elsewhere where true community harmony exists.

Hugh Panero, a tech and media entrepreneur, was the founder and former CEO of XM Satellite Radio. He has worked with leading tech venture capital firms and was an adjunct media professor at George Washington University. He writes about Tech and Media and other stuff for the Spy. 

Donations to support the non-profit museum can be sent to the Mid-Shore Community Foundation Attention: Bellevue Passage Museum. Or use this Museum website link 

Convincing a retired, aging parent with diminishing site and reaction speed, hearing, etc., to give up their car keys is tough. They’re sure they can still handle the road despite the tricycle they nearly flattened last week. Now, picture having that same heart-to-heart with President Joe Biden, the most powerful man in the world, about giving up the keys to the White House. Here goes.

Safety First: It’s More Than Just Doing Your Best

When we ask Mom or Dad to consider retiring from the road, we’ve seen them miss too many stop signs, take turns that make us cringe, and find several dents on the car. Driving and running for President isn’t just about “trying your best” – the risks are too high. For Joe Biden, if we don’t address this now, we might find ourselves handing over the keys to a sociopath who does not respect any laws. No car insurance will protect us from what is coming, and good intentions won’t keep the country from veering off into an ugly ditch that will take decades to escape. And whatever you do, Joe, please don’t take advice from Hunter. His decision-making record isn’t exactly inspiring.

The Dreaded Conversation: A Battle of Stubbornness and Denial

You sit with Dad, who you love, and delicately broach the topic. “Maybe it’s time to think about giving up the car keys,” Fearful of a loss of independence, leaving the big stage, and entering the twilight of his life, he scoffs, brings up his many driving adventures, and insists he’s got it under control and the best man for the job. Now, swap Dad out for Joe Biden in this conversation with decades of political mileage and successes. It’s hard to argue with the literal king of the road. You tell him he must see the bigger picture and show him recent polling data and his approval rating, which is difficult for any politician with a massive ego to absorb. You delicately tell the President that freezing in a debate “was more than just one bad night.” We have an opportunity to make a grand move.

It’s Not About Ageism, It’s About Safety

We’re not trying to ground Dad arbitrarily, but all things end, even driving. The same goes for President Biden. It’s not about disrespecting his legacy; it’s about ensuring the road ahead is clear and safe for all of us. Obama, Clinton, and others should ask The President to help find someone to take us forward.

The Alternative: A Dangerous Driver in Control

If Dad doesn’t give up the keys, we worry he will end up in a dangerous car accident and potentially hurt other people. In Joe’s case, we risk the country being handed over to the most dangerous driver, who said his driving theme would be revenge and retribution. We need a steady hand on the wheel, not someone who thinks crashing through guardrails, barriers, and road rage is a strategy.

A Moment to Transform the Democratic Party

Some have predicted that by leaving the race now, Mr. President, you will become a beloved statesman, reinvigorate the Democratic party, infuse young energy into the race, and cause the national news to focus on nothing else for weeks, building up to a Hollywood dramatic climax at the National Convention, when Democrats will rally around a new leader along with Independents and moderate Republican, resulting in a big November victory. At least, that is the dream – if it was only that easy.

Time to Reflect, But Not Too Long

Joe, you’ve been driving the car for decades, surviving personal tragedies and professional challenges with remarkable resilience. We understand that stepping out of the driver’s seat is a monumental decision that deserves a moment of reflection, even some pushback. But we only have a little time. The Democratic National Convention starts on August 19th, and if you decide to step away, there’s a lot to get done. So take a moment, but not too long – the clock’s ticking.
In Conclusion, For Everyone’s Sake, Let’s Find a New Driver

So, Mr. President, just like we lovingly suggest to our parents, it’s time to pump the brakes, step back, and offer your wisdom to the next person behind the wheel. So Kamala, Gavin, Gretchen (maybe even Wes), and everyone else — start your engines.

But if you or the Party cannot get there, we will still support you because, in the words of the Comedian Bill Maher, I will vote for Biden’s head in a jar of blue liquid” versus the other guy.

Why? Because of the horrible policies Trump has described enacting: In his first term, he added $3.9 trillion to the national debt, and extending the tax cut to his rich friends in his second term would add another $3.9 trillion to the Federal debt.

He has said he will reduce “legal” immigration at a time when the economy needs workers, raise tariffs across the board resulting in increased prices just as we are getting the economy and inflation under control, use regulations as a weapon, further diminish existing institutions, stack the Supreme Court with more far-right justices out of touch with the mainstream (Roe/Dobbs), end the independence of the Federal Reserve; abandon our allies; further undermine the rule of law, hire only people who swear loyalty to him rather than Country; and institute the Heritage Foundation’s, 2025 Presidential Transition Project, an authoritarian manifesto to dismantle government and vastly expand executive powers.

Hugh Panero, a tech & media entrepreneur, was the founder & former CEO of XM Satellite Radio. He has worked with leading tech venture capital firms and was an adjunct media professor at George Washington University. He writes about Tech and Media and other stuff for the Spy.

George R.R. Martin, the prolific novelist (Games of Thrones), grew up in a small house in Bayonne, NJ, a peninsula just south of Jersey City. When asked what inspired his imagination to create fantasy worlds as a child, Martin said he used to stare out his living room window at the lights across the water and imagine a Shangri-La. He later found out he was starring at Staten Island.

I regularly bike down Bellevue Road to the ferry and gaze out at Oxford across the Tread Avon River. Oxford is the quaintest town on the eastern shore. It is a Chesapeake Shangri-la accessible by ferry, one of the oldest in the land, a short eleven-minute ride. Our favorite activity is taking friends, family, and out-of-town guests on the ferry to Oxford or boating to Capsize in our clunky pontoon boat for water-view dining and a tasty Creamery ice cream cone afterward. I have many good friends who live in Oxford.

Sadly, town mismanagement has tarnished Oxford’s tranquility, turning this picturesque town into a political mess. Earlier this year, an Oxford resident, Scott Rensberger, a TV journalist by trade, frustrated by a lack of transparency and accountability on several issues, began producing cleverly crafted and controversial video reports.

Having been stonewalled by the town regarding his home’s flooding issues, he began using his significant media and investigative skills to focus on a lack of transparency regarding the town’s governance. Why was Town Manager Cheryl Lewis’ compensation with bonuses (est $179,000), not a line item in the town budget, a fairly standard practice? Why was it so much higher than the same job in towns of a comparable size? What was the context of Lewis’ daughter being hired by the Town, among other issues? The lack of a coherent, satisfying response from the Town prompted Rensberger and others to file Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) submissions as a last resort to get information being withheld by the town. Where there is smoke, there is sometimes fire.

The reaction to Rensberger’s video reports was mixed. Many people applauded his efforts. Others were offended out of loyalty to those town officials singled out they had known for years. Another group could not handle the in-your-face social media content, which combined factual reporting with some needed entertaining snark and popular culture references to keep viewers’ attention since Rensberger could not get the key players to go on camera. This genre of independent grassroots journalism is not new, especially in places with limited local news outlets.

More importantly, the criticism of Rensberger’s videos was mostly about style rather than the substance of the central facts, which have not been disputed.

Oxford used to remind me of the 1950s black-and-white TV show Mayberry R.F.D. Today, it is closer to the more contemporary TV comedy series Schitts Creek, another small-town soap with its local drama and complex relationships.

Undoubtedly, Lewis has done some good things for the town during her long time in office. However, transparency was not her priority. When we learned that her salary, the highest of any town employee, was not listed as a line item in the budget or included on the town website, it should have been a red flag about transparency.

By the way, the current Town Manager job description shows a salary range of $90,000–$110,000 compared to Lewis’ base salary, which was about $164,000 (without bonuses). This indicates the Town is getting its Town Manager’s salary in line with the market rate and maybe using the freed-up funds to hire more staff.

Staying with this theme of openness, when the Lewis controversy erupted earlier this year, why didn’t the Town Commissioners immediately update the website and add a line item showing the Town Manager’s salary? And defend her higher-than-market compensation and daughter’s employment, explaining that it didn’t violate any ethics laws. And let voters decide if the Commissioners handled the issues appropriately when the Commissioner’s three-year terms expire and elections are held.

Instead, they stonewalled, I assume, waiting for things to blow over, for Lewis to retire in June, and hoping to hit the reset button with a new Town Manager. Things did calm down. Summer on the eastern shore has that effect. That ended last week when Oxford shockingly parted ways with its newly hired Town Manager, Micheal Calvert, only a week and a half before his scheduled swearing-in ceremony.

Rensberger, after doing some simple internet sleuthing on Calvert, forwarded to Town Attorney Lindsey Ryan a 1994 Washington Post story reporting that Calvert was charged with “Indecent Exposure,” a criminal offense, and “Prostitution,” a misdemeanor offense. Connecting the dots, I’m guessing this new information resulted in frantic conference calls, more diligence, and the decision to end the Calvert relationship before he was sworn in.

The Town quickly issued a “Dear Residents” statement about Calvert’s sudden departure, explaining, “We mutually agreed to the part-ways” with Calvert, adding that it was “not a good fit.” The statement also added to the PR word salad that because the Town’s background checks are confidential, personal records are not subject to disclosure – code for: “We will not discuss this in the future, and when we do, it will be in closed session.” This is unfortunate since it would be interesting to know the extent of the vetting failure as residents wait for an “interim” Town Manager to be named.

This should have been a squeaky-clean search process, but Oxford Commissioners chose not to hire a search firm that vets candidates as part of their statement of work. It has been reported that Commissioner Katrina Greer wanted to hire a search firm. However, Tom Costigan and departing Commissioner Susan Delean-Botkin did not, due to the cost directly leading to this egg-on-face moment. They preferred having their controversial outgoing Town Manager, Lewis, handle the search. How did that work out? Sadly, all Lewis or someone else had to do was ask the town’s police unit to do a criminal background check.

The Town of Oxford should thank Scott Rensberger.

Calvert’s sudden departure has generated a loud collective: “Are you kidding me? The Town Commissioners must clean up this mess, hire a search firm, and generally be more transparent and accountable.

Hopefully, Norm Bell, the incoming Commissioner, will bring a fresh voice and temperament to the Town’s governance and make Oxford more like Shangri-La than Staten Island. No offense intended to Staten Island.

Hugh Panero, a tech and media entrepreneur, was the founder & former CEO of XM Satellite Radio. He has worked with leading tech venture capital firms and was an adjunct media professor at George Washington University. He writes about Tech and Media and other stuff for the Spy.

I recently dreamt I buried myself in the ground like a Cicada for the next four years, resurfaced alive and well in 2028, comfortably past this election cycle and the wars that rage in Gaza and Ukraine. I am not alone and believe this version of burying your head in the sand is a shared desire triggered by our ugly politics.

If Cicadas could send a scout, they might have buzzed by 2024. According to experts, Cicadas, which have survived for 1.8 million years, are buried underground and only surface en masse for a few weeks every 13 or 17 years. Being underground for the next four years sounds about right.

In my dream, I start my journey into the soil today, so I miss the remaining five months of the 2024 presidential election cycle featuring two aging dinosaurs, which appeals to me. I will miss the spectacle of bizarre and cringeworthy presidential debates, constant fund-raising emails and texts, news coverage designed to generate clicks, views, and advertising revenue, and the partisan network’s screeching. I will also miss the escalating hateful rhetoric, threats of a civil war, and, of course, a stressful election night and its aftermath.

My brood will also miss seeing how the country is governed for the next four years, led by either an unhinged, indited, revenge-oriented lunatic or a steadier lifetime politician, both of diminishing capacity heading for the eventual lame duck status. Trump will be 81 and Biden 85 at the end of the next presidential term. As an aside, the ages of the Founding Fathers on July 4, 1776, were James Monroe (18), Aaron Burr (20), Alexander Hamilton (21), James Madison 25, Thomas Jefferson (33), John Adams (40), Paul Revere (41) and George Washington (44). Just saying.

I would happily miss a few years of nonstop coverage of Trump’s many trials and those of his henchmen, as well as the endless babbling legal talking heads and cable anchors’ breakdowns of every mind-numbing legal twist and turn. I could do without the trial coverage altogether. Just tell me the verdicts when the trials and appeals are over.

For four years, I would also relish not hearing another word from or about the sleaziest cast of B-movie mob characters from Trumpworld who became household names thanks to cable news and social media—Stormy, Michael “The Fixer” Cohen, Rudy “Bankrupt’ Guiliani, and of course, the Don, the married bible salesman, who likes pornstars and former Playboy Playmates. We are all just worn down.

Lounging under moist dirt, I’ll miss seeing the frantic race to become the 2028 Presidential frontrunner, which will begin moments after the 2024 election is decided. Get used to hearing the term “Presidential Exploratory Committee” and being repulsed by an obscene amount of ass-kissing on Trump’s derriere by those entering the Republican field, less so on Biden’s butt from a gaggle of 2028 Democratic contenders.

I also dreamt that during my slumber, the current crop of nut jobs vaporized into political oblivion like former Congressman George Santos. They include representatives Majorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Bobert, and Matt Gaetz. I will also not miss seeing clips of Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) walking around the Senate looking like a physical education teacher in baggie shorts and a hooded sweatshirt about to teach gym class. I am all for supporting mental health issues, but please put on a pair of long pants. I could do with less extreme wokeness and more energy focused on practical solutions to important things like immigration reform.

I would also miss the grinding end to the War in Gaza and Netanyahu’s time as Prime Minister. The Prime Minister’s main job is to protect Israel. He failed miserably, allowing a Hamas sneak attack, resulting in 2000 dead and 200 hostages taken. His brutal response, killing 38,000+ Palestinians, flipped Israel from victim to villain for a generation of young people worldwide. Netanyahu’s self-interest is to keep the war going, delay a Commission to review his performance that will end his political career, and expose him to other domestic legal troubles. Someone has to negotiate a cease-fire, get the hostages back, and figure out how Gaza will be governed. It’s not easy.

Even while dreaming, I had no clear vision of how the war in Ukraine would play out. Putin would rather sacrifice another one hundred thousand soldiers than have his legacy include being defeated by the former comedian President Zelensky and his allies. I would not be surprised if the war raged on four years from now.

At the end of my dream, I rose from my underground habitat with millions of friends, forming a choir, and emitted a deafening high-pitched noise so everyone knew we had surfaced. However, unlike real Cicadas, there was not a lot of mating and mass dying a few weeks later. No one stepped on me, causing a loud crunching sound and I wasn’t swept up and put in the trash.

According to Psychology Today, psychologists either believe “dreams are nothing more than random brain activity that occurs while we sleep or, like Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung, believe that dreams reveal a person’s deepest unconscious wishes, fears, and desires.” I believe dreams are Cathartic. Catharsis is defined as providing psychological relief through an open expression of strong emotions. The word is derived from the Latin, Greek word kathartikos or “cleansing.” Boy, I need cleansing after four years of President Trump, several years of a defendant Trump, and almost four years of Biden, who while the right choice has never been an inspirational leader.

When I finally woke up, I was happy to find myself, not a dead Cicada, and less cranky. I felt cleansed and ready to help “Make America Kind Again” and power through the next four years until we can all experience a fresh start in 2028.

Postscript: We are all looking for good news that makes us smile. Above is a video of my son Liam’s unique, sweet wedding proposal to his girlfriend Jess on Saturday. Liam is an MMA fighter and an athletic performance trainer for elite high school athletes. His girlfriend Jess was a D1 collegiate wrestler who now coaches wrestling at Marymount University. She comes from an accomplished wrestling family. The surprise proposal happened at the end of a wrestling clinic taught by her parents held at Liam’s MMA gym, where he trains and teaches Jiu Jitsu. Watch it until the end.

Also, in my April 28, 2024, opinion piece, “Let’s Retire the Word Retire,” I asked readers to suggest a better word to describe retirement. The winner was Inspirement.

Hugh Panero, a tech & media entrepreneur, was the founder & former CEO of XM Satellite Radio. He has worked with leading tech venture capital firms and was an adjunct media professor at George Washington University. He writes about Tech and Media and other stuff for the Spy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We need a new word to better describe being “retired.” While there are multiple ways to talk about gender, there is only one measly, grossly inadequate word to represent what happens when you leave your job for good, irrevocably altering your life. Thirty-eight million retired people in the US likely agree with me.

In the past, I had no problem using signifiers like Student, Single, Married, and Parent, and my Occupation as a starter shorthand to help people understand what I was about. However, “retired” fails miserably as a descriptive term. It feels more suited to a bold, all-caps red stamp on an expired milk carton. 

I also dislike official forms that ask, “What is your occupation (RETIRED)?” or responding to the question, “What do you do for a living? ” Responding I am “retired” does not cut it. And all I see is the syllable “tired,” which also bothers me. 

It is not surprising because retirement used to be a simple equation. You worked a long time, retired, and soon after entered the pearly gates. However, on average in the US, people now live until they are almost 80, well beyond the average retirement age of 62.

Worst of all, “retired” doesn’t come close to describing the full and rich lives led by many retirees who use their expanded time on the planet to enrich their own lives and those of their families, friends, and communities. 

The word “retire” comes from the mid-century French “Re” (back) and “Tirer” (draw). When used as a verb, it can mean “to retreat,” like troops withdrawing from danger. It can also mean “taking one’s leave,” such as going to bed. As an adjective, it can describe a separation from society or withdrawal into seclusion—nothing you’d want to include in your LinkedIn bio.

To “retire” is defined as “to leave one’s job and cease to work upon reaching a certain age.” It represents the end, or withdrawal, from a career and its corresponding remuneration. However, the word does not fully describe the stage of life that my friends and I now find ourselves in, when people live longer and are physically and mentally healthier, hopefully with twenty years or more of runway left.

Retired became relevant as a life status in the late 1800s when pensions were invented in Germany. Offering a worker retirement plan was a political tool to help fend off socialism. The German government created a retirement benefits system targeting government workers like police, firefighters, and soldiers who deserved to be cared for after years of public service.

This concept sounded great, but the pension retirement age was set at seventy. Unfortunately, most of the population then only lived until their mid-40s and died before reaping the rewards. 

The word “retire” hit the big time in the 1920s, when private sector pension plans arrived to attract and keep employees. It got a jolt in 1921 after the IRS exempted taxes on corporate contributions to employee pension plans. The deal was you work for twenty years, and when you hit 65, you would receive an annual pension payment based on a percentage of your salary. In 1935, as part of FDR’s “New Deal,” the Social Security Act was created as a safety net for the elderly, unemployed, and disadvantaged. 

By the 1950s, about fifty percent of private-sector companies offered pensions, and retirement became a goal for many. Corporations eventually figured out that pensions could also be used to entice aging, higher-paid employees to retire through early buyouts that lowered costs and made room for lower-paid workers. Pensions also became a central point of contention during labor negotiations between management and powerful unions like the United Auto Workers. A pension was and remains an essential benefit for public service and blue-collar unionized workers.

If you worked 40-plus years ago, you likely had a pension. Not so anymore. In the 1980s, companies began replacing traditional pension plans with 401(k) plans, which shifted the cost of managing retirement plans from the company to employees. This move was motivated by corporate fear of millions of baby boomer employees hitting retirement age and the accompanying financial burden. Today, 85 percent of private sector plans are 401(k) plans, and unions are at the top of the shortlist of the remaining providers of traditional pension plans.

While funding for one’s retirement has changed, the definition of “retirement” has remained stagnant. AI noticed the insufficiencies associated with the definition.” I asked ChatGPT for one word that comprehensively best described being retired. According to the AI:

“…If you want a word encapsulating the broader idea of someone who has retired and is now engaged in other pursuits or enjoying life in their own way,  there’s not a single word in English that conveys that fully.”

People lucky enough to have a pension, a healthy 401(k), or who did an excellent job saving for retirement are re-reinventing themselves and indulging their passions. They are traveling, biking, starting new careers, working part-time, taking art classes, gardening, running for office, reading, writing, learning a new language, being active grandparents, volunteering, and yes, playing pickleball.

Some people who like working will do so until they’re booted out the door. Sadly, many people do not have the option to retire because they have debilitating debt, health issues, messy divorces, family to care for, and other financial pressures that force them to keep working and wait for Medicare, Social Security, and a little magic to kick in. 

My retired friends are not withdrawing at all. Kevin Beverly, the former President & CEO of Social and Scientific System, serves on four non-profit boards across Maryland, working as many hours “retired” as he did when running his company. My retired neighbors Susan & Barry Koh play leadership roles in the non-profit Chesapeake Music, Marty & Al Sikes produced a local jazz festival for a decade, and my buddy Scott Cohen, a self-made chef, travels to war zones and other dangerous places to feed people in need. The big difference compared to when they were employed is that these retired dynamos aren’t paid. 

Help me do justice to my retired comrades and find a new term that fully captures life after decades of hard work when we can finally do what we want to do with our time rather than what we have to do.

A recent WSJ article tried coining the phrase “post-achievement years” to describe retirement. However, as one might expect from the WSJ, “achievement years” were defined as the years you made lots of money and had a fancy job—as if being retired and giving back to the community, helping friends, and enriching your own life were not “achievements.”

Please feel free to suggest a replacement for the word “retired.” Until then, when I am asked, “What do you do for a living?” I will quote the poet William Ernest Henley and say, “I am the master of my fate and the captain of my soul.” 

Hugh Panero, a tech & media entrepreneur, was the founder & former CEO of XM Satellite Radio. He has worked with leading tech venture capital firms and was an adjunct media professor at George Washington University. He writes about Tech and Media and other stuff for the Spy. And please do not call him retired.