A wooden arrow sign beside a winding rust-colored path fading into a pale gray landscape.

Original artwork, not a still

City Aphorisms, Thirteenth Selection, New York ‧ 1994

Mason Cooley

Retirement is a one-way trip to insignificance.

Behind the line

What it means

Our interpretation.

This is a bleak claim about leaving work. Retirement is pictured as a one-way trip with only one destination, insignificance, so stepping away from a career means fading from importance. It's a pessimistic aphorism, and it treats a person's worth as tied to their job.

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