“The question of me retiring and when has been one I’ve been asked for the last ten years,” Spanish teacher Michael Bolyog said.

After 28 years at Oak Park High School –– 26 of those spent as the Spanish department chair –– Bolyog chose retirement after he realized it was about time. Bolyog said he plans on writing again once he is retired. His last book from the “Aiden’s Cauldron” trilogy was published in 2001.

Bolyog also said he would rather spend his off-season on low-cost cruises with his wife “wherever it’s not hot.”

“We’re taking a 15-day cruise to Hawaii next April. We’re cruising to Nova Scotia and Maine this summer; we’re going down to the Caribbean at Christmas time and we’re cruising up to Alaska this summer, too,” Bolyog said.

Bolyog said that he doesn’t want to become “dead weight.”

“Most men talk about what they’re going to do when they retire and then they don’t do them, then they’re dead within five years,” Bolyog said. “If you’ve managed your money wisely, you finally have the finances and the resources to do the things you’ve always wanted to do.”

Citing Spanish II as his favorite subject to teach due to its complexity, Bolyog said that he enjoys getting to know students “outside the rigors of a normal classroom.”

“The most memorable moments always involve the classroom and the good things that have happened in it, and especially seventh period when I see the light go on in somebody’s eyes –– when they finally get it –– that’s why people teach, that’s why I teach,” Bolyog said.

Bolyog will return to Oak Park High School as a part-time sub when the time is right. For now, however, he’s focusing on his 28th year working full-time in Oak Park High School coming to a close.

“I’d like to be remembered as someone who had honor and integrity and who taught a difficult subject, but always tried to be fair when I dealt with everybody,” Bolyog said.