A true American original would have to be in the person of Del Webb, the real estate developer who took a radical gamble with the creation of Sun City in Arizona. This was the landmark retirement community based on age segregation — no youngsters need apply — that became a model with three key characteristics:

• Activity — There would be plenty to do.

• Economy — Houses would be affordable; costs for common facilities would be spread among all residents.

• Individuality — Residents would be free to choose whatever they wanted to do.

The convergence of social policies after World War II helped make life at a Sun City type of retirement community possible. Postwar, cheap government loans enabled young families to purchase their homes in mass numbers. These homes appreciated in value, creating an asset that could be cashed in when the go-to-work and the raise-the-kids jobs had been wrapped up. The expanding social security program laid the groundwork for predictable income in addition to the tangible asset that home ownership provided.

At the same time, a shift was occurring in the family structure. In a pre-industrial agrarian culture, every person was needed to work the land for as long as humanly possible. Older family members were valued for their knowledge. The family farm was needed for survival, and transferring ownership did not happen until the owner died. The younger family members cared for the aging or ill older members. This family ecosystem changed forever when new industries arose, and people became more mobile, no longer tied to the land for survival.

Leisure Time

With people living longer, and having the financial flexibility to quit working, the question arose: “What to do?” In the mid-twentieth century, the thinking was to view retirement as a period of leisure. If work was a hard slog, then retirement would be the payoff with nothing to think about other than how to enjoy oneself. The notion of age-segregated communities ignited a positive response because now there would be a place for the oldsters to go who were no longer needed by their employers or their families. These communities were seen as a reward for a lifetime of hard work. One thing was clear: There was a very clean line between work and retirement. Work was work, and retirement was fun.

The Search for Something More Than Fun

Frenetic activity in the pursuit of fun hardly seems to define relaxation. The concept of luring a massive portion of the nation's population to reservations of recreation was an artificial design. Although keeping busy has its merits, it has its limits.

Not all seniors were decamping to retirement communities. Some, whether for lack of sufficient financial resources or simply lack of interest, were leaving work and going nowhere. All that experience, talent, and skill were sitting idle, waiting to be rereleased in a meaningful direction. An explosion of new opportunities is happening right now. People you know, and many you do not, are blazing paths and opening minds to a new understanding of what a happy retirement means.