Now, I know you expected me to say that, well, I just kick back in the rocking chair, fished a little bit, listened to Willie Nelson tapes and watched old baseball games on the Classic Sports network. And, tell you the truth, I have done that for maybe about five total minutes.

Rather’s line plays on a familiar cultural script about retirement—slowing down into leisure, nostalgia, and comfort—only to undercut it with comic exaggeration (“about five total minutes”). The humor signals restlessness and a strong work identity: he anticipates the audience’s assumption that a veteran broadcaster would finally relax, then insists that idleness doesn’t suit him. The specific details (rocking chair, fishing, Willie Nelson, classic baseball) evoke a distinctly American, Texas-inflected image of downtime, making his rejection of it feel personal rather than abstract. The quote thus frames continued activity as both temperament and principle, suggesting that purpose and engagement matter more to him than conventional notions of “taking it easy.”