From Whiz Kid to Was Kid?

Ex-computer expert Phil Bowe now meets another public need

Just back from a hiking vacation to France. Guess what? It’s the same the world over. People everywhere are struggling to navigate through their post-career lives.
Take Phil Bowe, who moved from England to a little village in southern France to be near his daughter and grandchildren. (She married a bloke who, like her, is a translator, and thanks to the magic of the internet, both can work remotely from the charming, medieval town of Castlenau-de-Montmiral.)
Phil was once a computer pioneer. Today, he drives a taxi. He’s thrilled actually: he’s found something worthwhile to do.

“One day you’re working hard and buckling to keep the forces of bastardy at bay  -- sorry I mean my management -- and suddenly you’ve got nothing to occupy yourself,” said Phil in his very British accent as he drove us from Castelnau to the larger town of Albi.
“I’d always thought of myself as a whiz kid and you wake up one morning and discover you’re a was kid. That’s quite a shock, I might say.”
After moving to this village with some 1,000 inhabitants, he discovered there was “no public transport for miles around.” Driving a cab “presented an opportunity to not vegetate on the telly, watching sports, and subsequently I found that actually I was doing a service.  I felt good about it.”
Right after giving us a lift, he was planning to drive a child, who had been in a coma for months after being slammed by a car’s side view mirror, to a therapy appointment.
“I found something that keeps my brain active, avoids me vegetating, and at the same time I meet lots of interesting and beautiful people -- like you!"
Ah, the French.. or newly French. So charmant.