22 North Shore Towers Courier n October 2015 NST Comptroller Robert Serikstad (left) and General Manager Glen Kotowski (right) flank retiring Building 1 Superintendent John Kenny NST maintenance and management say goodbye to retiring 36-year vet, John Kenny You’re Thinking of Retirement? BY GRACE SELLS I heard you might retire that you’re thinking of a plan Have you thought about expenses? Or will you seek employment to stay solvent and/or sane? Once you finish thinking and retirement’s your goal, remember, keep active. or miss medical exams. Revel in freedom. From the Writer’s Circle Grace Sells graduated from Brooklyn Jewish Hospital School of Nursing and earned a BA at Marymount Manhattan College. CircleCircleCircle RESPONSE BY ROZ NEWMAN But what if you take Grace Sells’ advice to ensure a stress-free retirement—someday, not today—and an illness or accident interferes with your plan? When your doctor predicts recovery—although with limited mobility—and your accountant says you’re in good financial shape, you count your blessings and thank the gods of good health and sound planning. But you have no desire to retire. Your work environment is charged with energy. Professional challenges demand your skills. You identify with your profession. How, you wonder, will you cope with your loss of purpose, identity, and routine? You decide to solve your problem by inventing a meaningful new life. You begin by surveying what’s left of the old one: Is a dream interred in your memory? If so, dust it off and jot it on a sheet of paper. Next, list your Interests, your Skills, your Character Traits and Accomplishments. Now reflect on the items you’ve listed in each column and prioritize them on a scale of 1 to 5. Which of the most valuable may be useful in the pursuit of your resurrected dream? Do they suggest other alternatives? This method may enable you to discover a fulfilling avocation to replace your vanished career. If it doesn’t, you’ve completed a selfassessment that will help you recognize other opportunities. You may, for example, find niches for your interests, creative and social skills right here—in “The All-NST Social Clubs Calendar” published monthly in the Courier. On the other hand, maybe you want only to relax and enjoy a new phase of your life at NST: afternoons in the garden or beside the pool, dinners at the Towers Restaurant or the VIP Room, and quiet evenings with a book. Roz Newman, founder and director of the NSTWC, earned a BA, MA, and PD at Hofstra University, where she was an adjunct instructor in the English and Writing Studies and Composition Departments for 11 years. “Super” Man John Kenny By you time you read this, John Kenny, a North Shore Towers institution, will have ended his dedicated run of thirty-six years on the maintenance staff, serving as the Superintendent of Building #1. Kenny was honored with a surprise luncheon Thursday afternoon, September 24, in the porters’ lounge in the Arcade’s sub-basement. In attendance were the entire maintenance crew of NST, General Manager Glen Kotowski; Assistant to the General Manager, Bruce Vogel; General Superintendent, Steve Cairo; and Security Chief, Kris Debysingh, among others. The normally reserved Kenny, who always shunned accolades and special recognition, was dumbstruck and noticeably humbled by the gesture, at times holding back tears. “Bass fishing in the Delaware River,” Kenny replied when asked what he most looked forward to upon his retirement. “As a kid, I’d spend all day with my father and brother fishing. Kids today—you don’t see that. They’re all home on their computers.” You also don’t see men of John Kenny’s caliber anymore. He will be sorely missed. GONE Fishin’
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