Monthly Archives: March 2014

28

Mar. ’14

Retirement Is Wonderful

Retirement……..I was never this busy when I was working but, I guess, staying active will make me feel younger and spry (or so it is said).  I feel good and being here at Imperial Plaza is a way of making sure I stay good.  I finally received the tire pump for my bicycle and, weather permitting, I will start back to bicycling.  My two son-in-laws want to cycle with me when they can.  That should be fun.  I just can’t wait for the three of us to be bicycling in Bryan Park and around the grounds of Imperial Plaza.

The White Squirrel is open.  It is a small café, next to the restaurant, and it serves, for now, breakfast and lunch.  Their menu is great and the prices are even better.  What makes the place so good is the serving of beer and wine.  I have been there twice, one breakfast and one lunch, and I have complaints.  Maybe it will get better as time passes but I have my doubts.  The service is slow, you have to hunt for someone to get a bill and the tables are always short of sugars in the bowl.  I guess I’ll have to wait because I don’t want to say anything to the supervisors and get someone in trouble or even fired.

One good thing about being retired is you have all the time in the world to do whatever.  All this week I did just that, I did whatever and that amounted to nothing.  I just can’t explain what it felt like except that it felt good.  I believe I accomplished some good writing with all that relaxed time.  A couple of articles I’ve been working on are almost ready for submission.  After I finish this I will get back to work on them and try to have it ready by tomorrow night.

I have a writers club meeting in the morning.  It is usually the third Saturday but the third Saturday in April will run into Easter.  The writer’s club is a great group of people and those of you that write and don’t belong to a club should consider joining one.  There are several here in the Richmond area and each one is different yet the same.  In other words, they tend to accomplish the same thing by meeting at different times on different days with different people.

By the way, I was told the article I did two weeks ago did not print out.  Everything is there except for the body and I have tried to put the body in place without any luck.  If I have people that want that article reprinted, I will do so, just give me the word.  Until the next time……Take care, be good and keep reading.  It really helps if you would pass my address on to others and hit the like button.  This way I won’t think you want a dislike button.  Bye-bye!

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23

Mar. ’14

Travelling

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I’m back again to talk about retirement here at Imperial Plaza.  When you get to be my age, people in the age group start dying and that is why my blog is late.  I was in North Carolina at a funeral and decided to look around while I was down there.   First, let me say, I am glad to be a Virginian and to be in Virginia.  It’s funny how you never appreciate a place until you are not there.  To compare North Carolina to Virginia, Virginia wins.  I guess the people of North Carolina will say the same thing but we all look through “rose colored glasses”.

I’ve been to many, many places around the world and I have found something in each place that would make me want to stay a while.  I really can’t say the same thing for North Carolina except for the larger cities.  Anything outside of that and I can’t see it.  The only thing I can say good about the state is the condition of the paved roads.  I also see there is a lot of work being done to build new roadways.  The roadways are smooth, fast and non-congested.

The thing that bothered me the most (or am I spoiled) is other than a large city there are no lights or sidewalks.  Here in the Richmond area someone would end up being “road kill”.  People here are crazy compared to down south so maybe they’re not that bad.

Being retired gives you all the time you would need to go to things like that and stay awhile instead of rushing back.  Take your time and scout around and go to other places.  Being retired means you don’t have a clock to punch and no one to answer to (my wife may have something to say about that).  I love to scout around and see the country, any country.

We left Sanford, North Carolina and went to Fayetteville, North Carolina and Pope AAF/Ft. Bragg.  It was great seeing another military installation that I rarely have a chance to see.  There are changes that, in my day would never have flown, really surprised me.  They did not have a Class VI (liquor store) or a NCO (Non-Commissioned Officer) Club.  My wife and I ended up at a Ruby Tuesday, in town, because they only had fast food places on base.  This would never happen in my day.

Instead of reversing and taking I-85 back to Richmond I took scenic I-95 and it was a delightful ride.  Traffic was running smoothly and the average speed was around 80 to 90 miles an hour.  There are always fools and I-95 had its share.  There was one driving in the dark without lights.  Then there were those passing me when I was speeding along at 90 in a 70 (what can I say.  I speed on the interstates).  Other than that, there was no trouble anywhere along the way.      Until the end of the week..TAKE CARE!

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08

Mar. ’14

Graves Mountain and Imperial Plaza

The people at Imperial Plaza that did not take the trip to Grave’s Mountain Lodge for lunch missed a fantastic trip.  I was in my apartment thinking, before we left, about the road conditions and the weather in general because of the recent snows.  To my surprise the roads were clear and dry and very few pot holes.  Thumbs up for the state of Virginia which is not like the state of Georgia and never have been.  Then the scenery can be added in and it made for a wonderful ride.

Those of us that went on the trip had the pleasure of travelling in the new Imperial Plaza bus.  Of course our favorite driver, Terry, was behind the wheel and Ron led the way, as usual.  However, Terry and I were looking at the bus and, of course, inspecting it as we looked at the rear camera that had a large display for the driver.  Then we found a leak on the right corner of the windshield that came from the snow that was on the roof of the bus.  Always something but it’s better than the other bus which had most of the windows leaking and, at times, the person sitting next to a window would get wet.  Now, that’s all gone and a smoother ride to boot.

We had a delicious meal and fantastic table talk and the usual beautiful view out the window.  The weather co-operated and the day was wonderful and it wasn’t too cold.  If I were to eat there every day, I would be big as a house and then some.  It was a lot and I could not have eaten everything; I was stuffed to the gills.  Then we left for our favorite stop, The Yoder Store.  There is so much there to choose from that I usually find myself spending more than I counted on, but it’s all good.  Then there are the small corrals with all types of animals in them.  In the goat corral there is a long ramp that wraps around the corral, slowly going high in the air.  The goats will walk to the top and wait for someone to get a cup of grain and send it up for them to eat.  If you want to see pictures of this, you need only to contact me.

I enjoy these trips, they are simply wonderful and, being selfish, I don’t have to drive.  So far, everywhere I have travelled with Imperial Plaza it was Terry driving and a couple of times Ron drove and, of course, the James River Bus Line.  My wife kids me about overly enjoying myself and, yes, I am enjoying Imperial Plaza.  More residents should go on these trips and enjoy themselves also.

Until next week, all take care and join me on some of these trips.  There is plenty room or there can be a second bus.  Let’s have some fun together.

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02

Mar. ’14

Warm Weather Is Coming

This week has been a really good week in that I have been very busy.  Imperial Plaza has had a lot of things going on but I have had to cut back because I have crucial deadlines coming for my writing.  I hate to cut back but either I have a lot of external fun or I have my writing fun.  However, I must continue what I have started until it is finished and then I can get back to other things.  That also means writing this blog once a week instead of twice a week.  I guess some of you have noticed that I have already begun this and not by intention but by accident.

I am also looking toward the future in that spring is almost here and the weather will be warmer and more conducive for being out of doors.  I have made plans to get a new bicycle and restart my bike riding all over the place.  What places?  Well, Bryan Park and all over Lakeside or I may go to the baseball park and back or who knows where else.  I will just go riding to where ever.  But that will also take away other things which mean I will have to make critical decisions on which things to bypass and which things I will maintain.  I really enjoy getting out with the Imperial Plaza people but first things first.  With so many outings scheduled on Wednesdays, I will have to keep Wednesday open as much as I can.

The Dinner Dance was great with good music and food.  The band Second Floor is always great and they kept the dance floor full.  Being that I was already inside, because I helped get things ready, I took the table in front of the band and reserved a seat for my wife, who was coming later.  When the doors opened, there was person after person coming to the table to get a seat and to reserve the rest of the seats for friends who were not there yet.  When I said the chair beside me was for my wife, I was asked to move to another table and that they were always at the front table.  When I said no, they got a little angry but moved to another table.  I finally was situated at a table of eight with only five of us there, up front and right in the middle.

I had already talked to some of the people that were setting up the room, about how people show up early and reserve seats at tables for other people and that most reserve seats are for people that don’t show up for the event.  The others, which were setting up, also mentioned that they knew who would be at which table.  So, I upset the applecart by being at a table I shouldn’t have and by refusing to move.   Sorry about that but isn’t it first come first served?

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