Well, not mine, though oftentimes the nearer I get to that magic age, the more fascinated I become with never again having to set an alarm clock. No, as editor of Library Journal’s Video Reviews section, I have more recently been confronted with the retirement of my reviewers.

Having adopted the section in 1981, I was certainly the new “kid” on the video block. The reviewers who came with the job were wonderful at making it an easy transition. Some of them are still with LJ. A number of these hard-working contributors stop by LJ’s New York office on occasion or the LJ booth at the various conferences we both attend. Others I am yet to meet.

Those of you fast on your mathematical feet will calculate that it is 26 years since I took on Video Reviews. As my reviewers mention their retirement or its approach, one thought that speeds across my brain is, “Great, now they will have more time to review. I can send multiple programs at once as their schedules are free and unencumbered.”

Wait, what did you say in that email? You are forgoing reviewing now that you are no longer working? How did that happen? I expected their retirement to make my life easier; now I will have to recruit more reviewers, break them in, deal with a whole new crew. This is not what I bargained for at this stage of my career. I had hoped we might all go out together in a blaze of glory—but a number of years down the line. In truth, I can’t begrudge these folks their hard-won rest from the reviewer routine. They have done more than their fair share.

Speaking of shares, my own stock portfolio might not be deep enough at this time to support my retirement. Instead, I will have to invest in my reviewer portfolio. Any librarians and academics out there interested in reviewing video/DVDs, please let me know. And retirees are always welcome.