Slow and Steady: Keeping the Hobby Alive

Making on a big project? This is probably not the time to satisfy the need for speed. In big projects, slow and steady often wins the race. Bob McLaughlin knows all about that.

I won’t spill all the beans right here, but elsewhere in this issue of Farm Collector, you’ll find an article about Bob’s uniquely clever approach to retirement. It’s as if he flipped a switch and transitioned instantly from a full-time job to a full-time hobby, one that allowed him to take on a challenge, pursue a decades-long interest and create something of lasting importance — while staying as busy and active as he wanted to be.

Bob’s multi-year approach to retirement is a bit unusual, but it is consistent with what many of you are already doing: keeping busy while enjoying your hobby. Whether you’re a volunteer at your club’s show or help with tractor drives or pitch in to make youth activities/school visits run smoothly, you’re doing more than you realize. You’re also showing younger generations that there’s more to retirement than rocking chairs.

At the shows, they see you interacting with all kinds of folks. When they see your interest in old iron combined with lifetime experience, their appreciation for your expertise swells. Most of all, they see you and those around you having a good time. Observations like those don’t necessarily spur immediate action, but they have been known to resurface when the time is right.

Bob’s approach is not a one-size-fits-all formula. And hands-on volunteering is not necessarily a good fit for everyone. But if you ever find yourself with too much time on your hands, take a minute to consider how you might put your expertise to work!

It’s later than you think! Have you figured out which show photos you’ll send for our February 2023 Show Photo issue? The deadline is Tuesday, November 1. If you’re submitting digital photos, they must be high-resolution images. If they are not, we cannot use them. Prints, of course, will always work.