Flopping in the grass

Just filling the feed with an overdue photo of Parfait after today’s walk. It’s warmer than usual and after she romped around the park down the street, when she got to our home, she just flopped onto the cool grass.  I joined her.  😂

Writing—and not

As I sit in our back porch with a cool breeze before the rain starts again, I think about the writing I’ve wanted to do after retiring and just never did.  Laziness? Other priorities?  Yes to both.  I like writing, I really do, but for several months I’ve been putting it off.  When retiring last July, I had this vision of what I thought retirement might be like.  It isn’t turning out that way, and that’s fine.  Well, minimally fine.  

 

I kept my interest in writing and was fueled a bit from a comment one of Kari’s friends told her, when she said she enjoyed reading my Facebook posts because they were written well.  Facebook isn’t exactly a high bar of literary median nevertheless I found it encouraging. And then Kari and I saw on a morning show two books that promoted writing. The first was Several short sentences about writing and the other was Right For Your Life. Kari encouraged me to buy them, and during the show I actually ordered them.  I just finished reading them.  I guess that’s why I’m writing now. 

I lost several months of writing since I retired and I had a lot to share during that time. And yet still I haven’t finished cleaning the garages. The garages was the priority.  Still is.  We did jump into retirement with both feet though, buying a new puppy and a new travel trailer which I haven’t shared here yet.

 

Holding no experience in them, in some ways I’ve looked at procrastinating by trying to figure out an easier way to write a blog. After signing up for the blog here I tried to find an app that would make it easier and have not had any success yet. All the while, I put off doing the actual writing. 

 

OK so here’s my commitment, well maybe a new goal, is to write something here at least once a week.  I hear a lot of people talk about journaling and I guess this falls into it. I really don’t know what they do when they journal as I haven’t asked but maybe this is it.

 

I’ll close here just by saying that from the books I read it is more important to get something down on paper or at least on a computer than it is to figure out how to do it what to write or even worry about things like grammar and spelling. The key is to get it down and then revise as needed. So that’s what I’m gonna do here. Some of the stuff may be pretty rough some of it may be unpolished so it may not make a whole lot of sense at times but I’m going to try to get something on here and get away from social media as much as I can for a while.

 

Happy trails,

David

  

Where Does The Time Go?

I had really hoped to keep this more up to date.  We’ve done so much, just since my last entry.  I truly don’t expect anyone to read this with any great interest or regularity, but had hoped that maybe someday relatives might discover it and get some small sliver of insight into the past that I wish I had captured from my elders.  

But first, I need to go do today’s New York Times Wordle.  

Coffee Morning

I’m working through a substantial project with a deadline and the timeline is now blown out because a vendor developed an unexpected and serious medical issue.  I’m having troubles finding a replacement.  This morning, I don’t care.  

It’s Election Day and folks from all parties have been acting stupid about it for months building to a crescendo today.  This morning, I don’t care.  

It’s rainy, windy, and cold outside, thwarting projects I’d like to accomplish.  This morning I don’t care.  

Before any visible or substantial changes have been made, people have been acting like insecure insolent toddlers stomping their feet while saying they are running away by announcing their departure from Twitter because someone bought it and they think it might change.  This morning, I don’t care. (Actually, for this one, I don’t care on any day.)

I didn’t win the two billion dollar lottery.  This morning, I don’t care.  

Time to step back and experience a little throwback percolator coffee making.  

I hope you find peace today, despite the momentary and insignificant distractions in life that we think are important to us.  

(And yes, another would be that I haven’t stayed current with this blog, but I’ll start catching up soon. I suspect that at this point, no one is reading it anyway.)  

Retirement Road Trip #1

First retirement adventure trip completed.  Nine days out.  

We spent a week at a condominium where Kari had stayed before. Right on the beach in Cayucos, Calif., just north on Morro Bay.  60°-70° F weather was a nice break from the Fresno heat.  We stopped the first night in Paso Robles and saw Darius Rucker in concert at the Mid-State Fair.  

While on the coast , we spent some wonderful time with good friends, (unfortunately others couldn’t make it to join us), swung golf clubs for the first time in 3 1/2 years, and mostly enjoyed the sounds, surf, along the great food in the area.   

We returned to Paso Robles for the last night and went to the Sensorio light show.  It was pretty cool.  

Monday starts the long list of projects around the house, four years worth of To-Dos to complete.  Next planned trip is in October—actually two trips.  One for my 50th high school reunion in Ventura and another to Phoenix for Kari to attend a credit union seminar.  It’s going to be very busy around home until then.

At some point I’ll learn how to put the photos in order, because they aren’t here.   

Time passes

For the better part of 45-50 years, I’ve always had a watch, a clock in the home, or later, my mobile devices set to 24-hour “military time” format.  This will be an adjustment.   

Retirement

Let’s start this off with my retirement announcement on Facebook.  

***

July 7, 2022.  It’s time.  Sooner than some.  Later than others.  

I’ve joined a handful of you who also transitioned during this past week, including my dear bride who officially retired a week ago, last Thursday, June 30. 

This will take some adjustment.  I’ve been in the work force one way or another for a long time.  

First job: Contra Costa Times, AKA “The Green Sheet” as a Carrier.  Yes, it was printed on green newspaper, and it was an early morning paper.  I often went to elementary school with green ink on my hands.  

Longest job: 1967-1996 (Sometimes part time, other times full time, and lots and lots of donated time.)  Working for my father’s cable tv company, Western Cable Enterprises, as a Laborer, Mechanic, Installer, Technician, commercial size (the really large ones) Satellte Dish Installer, and Vice President.  He also had a safety company called Action Barricade that kept us busy.  It also included a stint as a Bar Manager.  After my dad “retired,” he owned a popular bar in Ventura, California.  When he became terminal ill, I dropped out of law school and ran the bar for about a year before we sold it.  

Biggest case worked: TCI (Telecommunications, Inc.  At the time, the world’s largest cable TV provider) Nothing like taking something that started with a vehicle stop by some drug cops that turned up nothing other than a couple cable TV boxes in the trunk that looked damaged.  It eventually turned into a several month long case where I worked jointly with the FBI and the IRS Criminal Investigation Divison that resulted in six search warrants being simultaneously executed in three time zones in four different states, not to mention a questionable suicide that turned out to be a related murder.  It was intense and fun.   

Best job: Chief of Security and Fire for Delaware North in Yosemite National Park.  Awesome place and an awesome team.  

All the other jobs were fine for their time, but they just get the “Participant” ribbons.   

I’ve got a wide variety of projects lined up, so I’ll stay busy for some time to come.  Travel will happen too.  Unfortunately because of our recent lifestyle, we haven’t swung a golf club in over three years.  Nevertheless, Kari Stone has a goal to golf in every state, and we are about a third of the way through the list. 

First order of business for retirement is to dress for success so I may need to go out and buy a selection of oversized Hawaiian and bowling style shirts, short pants with plenty of cargo pockets, and the ubiquitous New Balance shoes.  

Happy trails.

The last employed tour of duty: