NATCHEZ — Garnett Chaney is happy with his life.

“People always tell me how lucky I am,” he said. “Some people will never get to retire.”

“I sure do like it. Everyday is Friday and Saturday.”

When The Dart landed on Florida Drive in Natchez on Sunday, Chaney was taking full advantage of his regular Sunday retirement routine as he relaxed on the couch with his dog, Lady, as his wife of 46 years, Patricia Chaney, was out.

“I’m a homebody,” he said. “I am perfectly content with my whole life taking place between here and Fayette.”

Chaney grew up in Fayette and moved to Natchez when he was 12 years old, and all the while his life has consisted of just a few things: working, fishing, hunting and cooking.

“Retirement has made it so I can do those things whenever I want,” he said.

Before he retired, Chaney wasn’t sure about it.

“I don’t know why,” he said. “I guess, maybe, I was scared of the future.”

He had worked as a facility tech and cable splicer long enough to see his employer change from Southern Bell, to South Central Bell, to BellSouth, and finally to AT&T. It was 41 years all told.

“I couldn’t have worked with a better bunch of guys,” he said. “It felt like work, but it was good work.”

Now, five years into his retirement, he can hardly remember life before.

“I move at my own pace,” he said. “If I was a dog and had two tails, they would both be wagging.”

And while he hunted and fished before retirement, the activities have become a bigger part of his life, but not for the act of catching animals.

“I don’t care if I catch anything,” he said. “It is just so relaxing to be out on the river or in the forest.”

“I do feel lucky.”