#1. Honest Harry. This response comes with honesty, sincerity and joy. There is honest expression of sadness and loss, a readiness to admit some fear without the one who is to retire but above all there is a heartwarming, sincere and joyous expression of congratulations and hopes and prayers for the very best.

#2. Cautious Claude. Oh the silence of this individual is probably most wise. This is the one who has been mean, malicious and all-too sensitive towards the one retiring. This one is coming to terms with the fact that his/her whipping boy is about to go; probably the one who has been constrained by profession, personal beliefs or both. But with retirement comes now the perfect opportunity for truth to be spoken to Claude… so Claude, wise at last, decides to stay away.

 

#3. Resentful Reggie. Oh this poor soul would so love to retire, he has made it a firm belief that “retirement” is truly and has to be “the promised land”. He is deaf to the cries and blind to the sights of those retired who are sad, listless and unhappy. But this soul is nourished by resentment and satiated by bitterness and the one to retire is simply a fresh meal ready to be served.

#4. Angry Abe. Here there is silence but dissimilar to Cautious Claude. Abe is just plain angry and the archetype of passive-aggressiveness. This one was not told beforehand and part of that group of ‘close and trusted friends’ and this one is angry because he is left to cope with ongoing challenges and this seems thoughtless, unkind and harsh. Maybe if the energy of passive-aggressiveness was converted into openness and creativity there would be fewer problems to face… but that really is for another blog.