Robert and Bette were among the people I had a chance to get to know at the Canada-US Servas conference which was held in Vancouver from August 5 to 8, 2005. At 53 years of age, both retired recently since they view time as one of their most precious assets.

Through Servas, Robert and Bette have travelled extensively throughout the world and they have been members of the US organization since the 1970s. Throughout their membership they have had an opportunity to create personal connections in a great variety of places. They have also hosted many Servas travellers from many different countries in their home and have passed on this generous spirit of hospitality to their own children as well as to other young people. Here are some of Robert and Bette's experiences:

1. Please tell us a little bit about yourselves. Where are you from, what are your professions, where do you live now?

We are both born and raised in Philadelphia. We enjoyed small town living in Moorestown, NJ for the last ten years. Our girls are pretty grown and so the big house was unnecessary. So now we are retired middle school teachers living in the resort of Brigantine, NJ (just north of Atlantic City).

2. Both of you just recently retired at the young age of 53. I am sure that involved some conscious choices. Why was that decision so important to you and how did you manage to carry it out so early?

We firmly believe that rich people have money while wealthy people have time. We wanted to be wealthy. Bette