Are You One Of Us?

There was a librarian who used to work at my university, and retired a decade ago.  One day he came in, saw me, and did a double-take.

"Are you still here?  I thought you retired."

"Ray, I'm only fifty-five."

"Fifty-five?  You're sixty-five!"

"Thanks a lot."

In the last few years I have started noticing people I know retiring.  For some reason a lot of my friends are four years older than me.  Naturally some of them left the labor force earlier than me.

But some people who were born the same year as me started leaving a few years ago and that made me wonder: What did they know that I didn't?  Did they marry someone rich, or pick a more lucrative occupation, or have some other reason?

And now I am out, and looking at my peers who are still working and asking the same question in reverse.