Getting Close

Getting Close

So if you're getting a bit weary of hearing me blather on and on about my impending retirement, perhaps now might be the time to set this blog down and go do something important – chopping wood for the upcoming winter or putting up your storm windows perhaps. Those tasks are important and will pay off very soon. I extremely doubt that reading this will benefit you as much as those projects will, but if you're even a tiny bit curious about the jumbled thoughts whirring around in my gourd at the present time, pray read on.

You may recall I penned a previous blog when the countdown to my retirement reached 99 days. I called it my double-digit dance and went on a bit about the scarcity of days from that point until my retirement. Writing that seems like only a few weeks ago, but it actually is quite a bit longer than that. I'm now under a month, calendar time, and tomorrow marks 20 work days until the magic number of one.

It's coming right up, my friends. Right around the corner to borrow a cliché that's been too often used. But cliché or not, it's quite true.

This time next month I will have been retired for a few days.

I've spent part of the past year questioning most of my retired friends about their ongoing feelings about retirement and am at about a 96% response that “they love it” or “they're busier now than when they worked” or “they don't know HOW they ever made time for work in the old days.” I've had one or two exceptions which sort of mumbled and let me know that they had to do something and had gone back to some sort of paying job, but the vast majority were satisfied and more than satisfied.

So I try to integrate all those responses to my questions and try to imagine the world wherein I will not be an employed member thereof. Where I don't have to “punch a time clock” either actually or metaphorically. Where the 24 hours of the day will belong to me and me alone. Of course excepting the things I have to do to maintain my home, my health and my marriage. Those will obviously still be ongoing tasks. But I still scratch my head and wonder how I'll cope in that new world. I suppose a lot of this mental fidgeting is due to my unfortunate habit of over-analyzing events and situations, to conjure up horrible futures and worry overmuch about “the downside” of what's upcoming. Worrying about things that probably should not be worried about. Coming up with strange future scenarios where I... Where I... Hmmm... To tell the truth, they generally come to me in dreams – nightmares, actually – and cause my first hour or so after arising to be vaguely uncomfortable, as if I'm waiting for the proverbial “other shoe” to drop. Soon I'm back to my normal irascibility, but the vaguely-remembered sense of doom will sometimes return at odd moments and color the rest of the day.

Perhaps that melancholy flavor to an approaching “good” time might be due to the remembered retirements of family members and other friends from an older generation. What did retirement mean to them? The couch, the easy chair, endless games of cribbage or euchre and, not too far down that road, the sad faces of mourners at a funeral.

Yes, I realize that is not particularly how retirement is viewed now days. Since we're all (knock on wood) living much longer, retirement seems to be regarded now as a sort of new adult-flavored childhood with less stress, more time to do hobbies, sports and to interact much more with other folks. A time to write that short story, to learn that new language, to knit or sew, to golf, to learn that Asian cooking technique that seemed so baffling last year, to travel more and to learn more about what and who we are in relation to our wants and needs rather than how to achieve whatever it was we were striving for in our working lives.

I'm anticipating that all these pre-retirement anxieties will blow over fairly quickly once the actuality of not working happens. I'll find new trade winds to fill my sails with and new horizons to steer toward.

At least I hope that's what's going to occur.

I suppose my work life is similar to others of my age. I started working for a wage around age 16 and pretty much wrapped my life around one job or the other over the following 50 years, give or take. I've defined who I am by what I do. I'd venture to say most of us do that. I'm a doctor, a dentist, a lawyer. I'm a boilermaker. I'm a carpenter. I'm a stevedore. Or in my case, I'm a computer guy in one flavor or another over the years – student, operator, supervisor, testing analyst and so forth. Dropping that description of myself will be difficult although how difficult I'm not sure. I guess the new appellation I could put on my name-tag could be “former” computer guy.

I guess that sounds workable and I could live with it.

One thing I know for sure though. I know I'll miss my friends here at work. I've been around a lot of these folks for a decade or more and cutting myself off from them will be difficult. They were and are touchstones in my life. Sure we'll probably talk on the phone or text, have lunch once in a while, maybe there will be some communication on one of the social medias. But the human contact... that's going to to be tough to walk away from. So, so tough...

Humans, especially us older ones, hate change. We hate having our established routines dislodged and our comfortable day-to-day activities altered. It's hard for us to, in essence, start over – to forge new paths and to make new relationships. To walk down roads in lands we're aliens in.

But that's the reality of retirement, in my mind at least. It's change with a capital “C”.

So how am I going to handle retirement? Will I slip gracefully into it like an Olympic diver slides into the pool without a splash? Or will I enter my new position kicking and screaming for a go-around, a redo, another quick ride on the merry-go-round?

I suppose my present state of mind might be called apprehensive with a lot of hope. Or forward-looking with some scattered trepidation. A mix of ups and downs, pluses and minuses.

Obviously time will tell how retirement and I end up coexisting.

So, for the time being, let's just say I'm considering retirement as a sort of graduation, like finishing high school or college, and gazing steadily into a rose-tinted future that stretches far, far ahead of me, full of opportunity and fulfillment.

I surely hope so.

In any event, I'll try to get back to you, dear reader, when I reach the single-digit-dance phase. That ought to be interesting.

Did I Tell Ya it Rained on This Year's Road Trip?

Did I Tell Ya it Rained on This Year’s Road Trip?

I really don’t know how many of you might be interested in the minutia of the road trip our family took this year, but if you are, you are in luck!  This is it!  To be precise, here follows the exploits of Bill, Judy and Tony on a 2,000 mile odyssey this October; their ups and down, their encounters with the strange folk of far-away states and their experiences negotiating the odd customs and rituals of said far-away states.

So, fellow traveler – grab a cup of strong coffee, set yourself down in a comfy chair and get ready for the show.

Ready?  Then let’s have at it!

On the first day of travel, Tuesday, we were lulled into thinking that the trip just might be pleasant, weather speaking, as the sun shone as we headed out of Ohio in a westerly direction.  I’d checked the forecasts for the trip, however, and was not fooled by Mother Nature’s initial offering.  I knew better what lay ahead.  We said hello to our first rain near Indianapolis and it was pretty miserable for a couple of hours.  It gradually eased off somewhat near St. Louis and was hospitable again until we reached our destination for the evening at St. Robert, Mo.  It was a long first day and I was tired.  We all slept soundly that evening at the hotel and arose to continue our journey only slightly the worse for wear.

On Wednesday after a nice sunny drive west, we arrived at our first destination, Judy’s sister and brother-in-law’s house in Sand Springs.  This town is one of Tulsa, Oklahoma’s suburbs, about 8 miles southwest of the city.  After some catching up with Judy’s sister Lori (the brother-in-law Harris was working late that day) and unpacking, we adjourned to an Italian restaurant in Tulsa for a late lunch/early supper.  After returning we again noticed that their house is a very nice-looking brick and sits on a large lot due to their buying the lots on either side of them – a very smart thing to do in my estimation.  Harris, Lori’s husband and the brother-in-law arrived later in the day and we all continued our catching up.

Please note that I have a serious disability insofar as I unconsciously try to mimic the accent of people around me.  I fought it the whole trip but wanted to apologize to our hosts if they detected something off-key in my speech patterns.  It wasn’t intended as mockery.  Honestly!

Thursday we were up and off to Utica Square in Tulsa for a breakfast at a rather eclectic place called the Wild Fork.  A bit high-end and very generous in their servings (I got stuffed!).  Then, as the day was beautiful, we were off to Bartlesville in the beautiful Osage country north of Tulsa to visit Woolaroc – Frank Phillips (founder of Phillips Oil) ranch and museum.  Woolaroc – the name denotes wood, lakes and rocks – was founded in 1925 originally as a get-away place for Mr. Phillips and a place to entertain his friends in the oil and show business.  He was a heavy collector of Western art and artifacts and that’s how the museum started.  It was added to many times over the years and is now quite extensive in those areas.  His lodge house is still there, too, in the same condition it was when Mr. Phillips was alive and is very interesting with its rustic look and the many stuffed animal heads mounted on the walls.  He also loved wildlife and there are now many examples of native and exotic animals roaming the grounds – elk, longhorn cattle and bison along with lesser-known beasts from around the world. In the quite large museum we found many examples of Indian art and many, many beautiful bronzes of Western life.  (I totally loved the bronzes!)  It also contains his airplane and oil memorabilia.  They even have a stagecoach that used to run a route in Montana and is reputed to have 650,000 miles on it!  That’s a LOT of rough riding!

We returned to Tulsa after a great afternoon exploring Woolaroc.  That evening we ate at a very well regarded Mexican restaurant in downtown Tulsa named the Mexicali Border Café.  Good food, good waiter, great Margaritas!  We then went about 2 blocks to check out “the Center of the Universe”.  This is an odd little place in a pedestrian-only plaza that has some very unique acoustic properties – bizarre echoes and strange auditory effects when you stand in a specific spot.  Hard to figure out what’s happening or how, but it’s surely unique.  Afterwards we adjourned back to Lori and Harris’s home for more conversation.

The rains and storms started late that evening.

On Friday it rained most of the day.  We ate breakfast at home and shared some of our recent cruise photos to them on their big 60-inch TV.  Later in the afternoon we drove to a consignment store to wander around a bit and see if Oklahoma junk looked different than Ohio junk.  The answer was yes and no.  More cowboy stuff and less Amish stuff, I guess.  More Merle Haggard albums and less AC/DC.  Ate supper at a downtown Sand Springs hamburger joint.  Tasty!  Watched a couple movies with them at their house that evening – “Million Dollar Baby” and a comedy whose name escapes me.  Judy and Lori went grocery shopping during the first half of the first movie while Harris, Tony and I watched it.

On Saturday morning we ate some of Lori’s homemade oatmeal – yummy – along with some toast with jalapeño jelly!  Good stuff!  Drove to the Saturday Flea Market in Sand Springs and perused the goods available.  Since it was still a RAINY DAY (thought I’d remind you) some of the stalls were not open.  At least it was indoors as it was chilly.  I spent a pleasant 10 minutes or so while there chatting with one of the stall owners who used to be a scoutmaster.  Interesting fellow.  Back at the house we did the lazy Saturday thing of watching college football, which they take quite seriously out there.  The best game was a Baylor vs TCU matchup in which Baylor won 61 to 58.  LOTS of scoring in that one!  Knoshed on Lori-provided frozen yogurt cones during the games, too.  Thanks Lor!  Supper was at a tiny diner in downtown Sand Springs – fish sandwiches and onion rings.  Simple and nice!

Sunday was another oatmeal day – still good but…  After breakfast, Lori and Harris headed off to church and we drove over to Broken Arrow – another suburb of Tulsa – to visit with an old friend of mine and her husband – Linda and Bob. Linda was the youngest sister of a girl I used to date waaaaay back in the ‘60’s.  We’d lost touch with each other over the years, but got back in touch not too long ago using Facebook.  This was the first opportunity we had to see each other in about 40 years.  They had graciously invited us to their home that day and we’d happily accepted.  They introduced us to their white Westie dog named Maisie and we happily played with Miss Maisie while yammering away about old times, old friends and almost half a century of our lives.  We took a break for a good Mexican meal and a better Margarita, then, after a guided tour of the rapidly growing city of Broken Arrow, returned to their home for more conversation and memories.  I gave them a copy of the two books I’d written and they were tickled to get ‘em.  We bid a fond farewell around 7 and then returned to Sand Springs.  We grabbed a quickie supper at a local Sonic – just Judy, Tony and I that evening as Lori and Harris had eaten earlier.  More football was enjoyed on their big TV and Lori and Judy washed all our dirty clothes from the trip.  Sooooooo nice!  Thanks Lor and Judy!

On Monday we bid a sad farewell to our hosts and headed on an eastward course to Fayetteville, Arkansas, where we were to meet with an old Air Force friend and his fiancé – Al and Sandy.  We arrived at their house around noon in the rain.  (Did I mention that it was STILL raining in the area?)  We ate at a barbecue place nearby for lunch and returned afterward for a tour of their house.  They’d only just moved into this residence about four months ago and it was a nice one!  What was the coolest part of this particular house was the movie theater in the attic!  Yes, a movie theater!  12 movie seats, a huge projection TV and big screen.  Al was in the process of rewiring it and doing some maintenance.  But…  a movie theater in your home?  Wow!  I dropped off some more of my books with them and we visited until about 6 p.m. when we had to leave for Branson.

The drive to Branson, Missouri from Fayetteville, Arkansas consisted of a windy 2-lane mountain road for about 80 percent of the drive.  It was dark and did I mention IT WAS STILL RAINING AND WINDY?  Quite a white-knuckler of a drive for yours truly, for sure.  We checked into our hotel and dined at a Denny's for supper (we do love the high life!).  Hit the hay early as the drive had about done me in.

On Tuesday we ate at the hotel buffet which was about as good as those things get.  Scrambled eggs, sausage, biscuits and sausage gravy, waffles, juices, coffee, fruits, cereals.  Quite nice!  We then visited the Titanic Museum.  Judy and I had seen it some years ago, but this was Tony’s first time.  It’s a very nice place with all kinds of information and exhibits about the Titanic.  You’re given a passport as you enter with one of the passenger’s names signifying yourself.  At the end of your trip through the museum you see if you lived or died.  As you might have guessed it was too bad for our surrogates.  Then it was a trip to old downtown Branson for some souvenirs and tee shirts and a lunch at Steak and Shake.  Supper that evening was at a seafood buffet.  We went to the Baldknobbers Jamboree Show at 8 that night – a Branson “must see” with great country music and hilarious comedy.  Tony loved it!  Back at the hotel by 10:30 and had hot cobbler and ice cream.  At the HOTEL!  I just love this place.  This was an everyday feature of the hotel.  Nice!

Wednesday was our last day at Branson.  We had the great buffet again for breakfast and went to a big craft mall to walk around and drool at some of the neat stuff for sale.  We were basically just killing the morning while we waited for our first performance of the day.  There was a Coleman outlet store next door and we wandered its aisles for a while also.  And, can you believe it - THE SUN STARTED COMING OUT OF THE RAINCLOUDS!  Just in time for our last day. 

Our first show that day was an Elvis impersonator named Joseph Hall – a young Elvis and a really good one.  Two hours of singing and hip gyrations had us all sweating along with Joseph (Elvis).  Supper afterward was at a steakhouse where prime rib was enjoyed.  At 8 o’clock we went to a show called the Revollusionists.  It was a magic show with six young magicians doing their specialties – slight of hand, escape, close-up, big illusion and juggling.  Quite a mix.  They, as all entertainers we’d seen in Branson, worked very, very hard and put on a humdinger of a show!  We think we might have seen the juggler on one of our cruises but couldn’t be sure.  Back to the hotel for more cobbler/ice cream/cookies.  Love this place!

Thursday was our travel day and the less of it remembered or talked about the better.  Loooong hours driving the 763 miles from there to home.  We left around 6:30 am and got home nearly 10 pm.  So very, very tired.

So there you have it, for the folks still with me.  Ten days on the road – doing stuff, seeing stuff, enjoying (for the most part) each other’s company and relishing not having to go to work.

So thanks again to the three wonderful couples that put up with our shenanigans over those ten days and to tell them to make sure to say howdy when you’re in our neck of the woods.  We’d love to show ya around!