Who says retirement is boring? Certainly not the very active volunteers and participants of St. Louis County's Older Resident Programs (C.O.R.P).

"Can we talk on Friday," asked 69-year-old Darryl Fabick when I called to talk about the C.O.R.P. computer class he teaches. "I'm leaving Saturday for a 7-day trip."

When I met Fabick for coffee he explained more. The trip was seven days on a bicycle participating in Hostelling International's Cycle Route 66 road trip. My jaw dropped when he said he would be riding 335 miles.

"I retired a little early," Fabick said, explaining his interest in cycling and his involvement with C.O.R.P.

"I started teaching computer skills to seniors in 2002 with St. Louis Senior Computer Training. They contracted their services to C.O.R.P. and eventually C.O.R.P. just took over the program."

Fabick's classes focus on the basics.

"The first week, I take apart a computer so the students know what its components are and what each one does. Then, we (Fabick and two other volunteers) teach basics such as Microsoft Word, and Internet and e-mail skills." Fabick noted that he has students of all skill levels.

"I think it's great," he said. "What keeps you going is staying active — either mentally, physically or both."

Eighty-year-old Lee Baris couldn't agree more. For the past 20 years he has let loose his mental and physical energy on Broadway Fantasies, a not-for-profit group of retired singers and dancers who "love to stage Broadway musicals."

"Everyone is welcome — as long as they're over age 55," Baris said. "A few years ago, I started experimenting with bringing in some younger talent, but C.O.R.P. gently said, 'Let's get back to our roots.'"

Baris laughed, and I suggested that he was accustomed to stirring things up.

"I have people who keep me in line," he assured me. Two of those people are Karin Krakover, the group's new director, and Arnold Lehrman, who recently retired from the stage. "It's a collaborative effort."

"We attract participants (and patrons) from all over St. Louis County," Baris said. "We perform shows on two weekends in June. The 2010 dates are June 5-6 and June 12-13 at Wydown Middle School."

When Baris meets retired people he asks them, "'What do you like to do? Do you like musical theater?' Every one has an interest of some sort. I say, 'take that interest and expand on it, or come and sing with us.'"

"Everyone in C.O.R.P. is wonderful and welcoming," Etta Zubric told me when I met a group of C.O.R.P. participants outside the Missouri Botanical Garden early one morning.

C.O.R.P. provides Zubric with social opportunities, like the Garden trip, and also helps with her transportation needs. She returns the favor by volunteering as a "care caller" — reaching out by phone to people who need a little company.

"The #1 thing about volunteering with C.O.R.P. is that helping people makes you feel really good," said 12-year C.O.R.P. volunteer veteran Jean Books.

A North County volunteer, Books explained that there are no age limits on volunteers, "but most of us are older." She also noted that it's especially hard for people who live alone once they give up driving. C.O.R.P. offers people a way to stay in their homes and still be involved with the community.

"I think I know more than doctors," added Dave Brown, an 85-year-old C.O.R.P. participant and retired volunteer from South County. "People get sick because they get lonely."

For C.O.R.P. volunteers, letting a friend get lonely is not an option.

"Our volunteers have big hearts," said C.O.R.P. coordinator Maureen Connelly, "Often, they're the first person to know if something is wrong. They go above and beyond to make our participants feel cared for."

Tom Kelly of South County said his wife is one of those big-hearted volunteers.

"She drives for C.O.R.P. practically every week," he said. "I just do the social events, like this trip to the Garden."

"There are so many opportunities within C.O.R.P. that our volunteers can choose what's best for them," Connelly said. "Truthfully, I think it's a give and take relationship. Our volunteers seem to get as much from the experience as our participants."

Books added, "At its center, C.O.R.P. is really about neighbors helping neighbors."