Tag Archives: retired

26

Jul. ’16

No Nation Is An Island

No man is an island,
Entire of itself,
Every man is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less.
As well as if a promontory were.
As well as if a manor of thy friend’s
Or of thine own were:
Any man’s death diminishes me,
Because I am involved in mankind,
And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls;
It tolls for thee.

John Donne

I must have hit a nerve with my last posting because I did not get any comments nor did I get any likes although the posting was read by a few people. Therefore I am posting a more controversial topic…the Republican Convention/Donald Trump. I was slightly miffed when I didn’t get my usual reviews but this is not a job and I am not getting paid.

The Republican Convention is over, and, in my personal view, with nothing accomplished except for hate and discontent among everybody against everybody. Even the former ex-chief of the KKK is running for senator because of the rants and ravings of that convention. The KKK love what is going on and the ignorant party members bought these rash statements of a bigoted know nothing. David Duke and the KKK love hate and dissension and they see, finally, progress in their quest for regaining power.

Why am I being so harsh about this, you say? I am an American although my skin and thinking is not that of Donald Trump. He and the KKK want to corral me into the groupings of all the people they think should not be apart of this great nation. Make the nation great again…I never thought it wasn’t. I have served my country in peace and in war and retired from it to serve again as an employee at a federal facility. By doing this, I have found the nation greater than any nation I visited. I have had the opportunity to have a look into the workings of many other governments and then ask myself one simple question. Would I want to live under that type of government? The answer was always a huge “NO”. However, ask the Republican, the one that have never been in the service or never wanted to go, which country is the greatest and all you will hear is rhetoric, never a straight answer.

Mr. Trump say get out of NATO, USAFE, SEATO, etc. and all other defensive/offensive organizations that are designed to not only protect allied nations but, in the long run, protect us. How can a person that does not know what is in the Constitution or Declaration of independence say what we, as Americans, should and can believe in. His ranting words fell on my deaf ears as soon as he started talking around very pointed questions and then started talking nonsense. There was always raves about what he was going to do to fix things but never, ever about how this was to be accomplished. All I can say is the people that heard this and went along with it are just as stupid as he is. The USA is in trouble if he gets elected, in my humble opinion.

So far, most Republican members of Congress are not with him on most things. Good. But, I wonder how he expect to get what he wants, carte blanc, without the blessing of Congress. Then, many Republican Congressmen are up for re-election this year. Will they be re-elected to maintain that majority? We will see. If they are not re-elected and do not maintain the majority, what will happen.

It is almost over and now we will have the Democratic Convention. This should be a boring four days compared to the last four. Let us hope for the best and that saner minds prevail. Pray to God that the people will open their minds and think. I truly believe that anything is better than Trump, but, have it your way. And you will. This is a democracy and as a democracy the people will have it their way via a secret ballot. Let us pray they are right with whomever they choose. Remember, no nation is an island and the bell may be tolling for us. May God have mercy on us all.

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23

Jun. ’16

Vacation Cruise

We have returned (my wife and I) to land after nine days at sea, on the Grandeur of the Seas, with stops in Bermuda, Nassau (Bahamas) and Coco Cay (Bahamas), over twenty four hundred nautical miles, round trip. I loved it but I did not love what we returned to, the aftermath of a terrible storm. Trees down, roads blocked because trees were across the roads and power lines and no electrical power anywhere. I have been through and seen worst but that is something a person can’t get used to. It’s an inconvenience, to say the least, but I’ll get to that later.

First let me write about the cruise. We traveled from Imperial Plaza by bus with twenty six other people and checking in/boarding was a breeze. It was better than what I anticipated plus the weather was perfect. In fact, the only day we ran into rain was at the last stop, Coco Cay, Bahamas, and that was an off and on rain. In fact, when I took the picture of the sailboat with the lightning strike behind it, it was a sunny morning. When the off and on rain hit, I was reclining in a beach chair on the beach, letting the warm rain wash over me along with a gentle, warm breeze. What a relaxing day.

The first stop was at Heritage Wharf in Bermuda. We took a tour of the entire island with frequent stops included. That night we cruised the waters in a glass bottom boat, looking at the fish and the old ship wreck that was sticking out of the water which have been there a couple hundred years. This is proof that Bermuda is surrounded by a reef and there are only two ways past the reef. It was quite warm but a nice breeze gave relief from the humidity. Lovely place but it would be expensive to live there. Michael Douglas and a couple other stars have property there but they can afford it. While we were on the tour, we stopped in the capitol, Hamilton, and did a short tour downtown. We also did the same thing at the far end of the island, St. Georges.

The next stop was Nassau, Bahamas and it was a little hotter (I don’t mean that in a bad way. I love the heat.). We toured a cigar making factory, a chocolate factory and the Natural History Museum. Of course I had to get some nice, fresh, hand rolled cigars. Love a good cigar (I know smoking is bad for you but to each his own, I say). From what I could see, Nassau is small and densely populated. My wife and I concluded that the reason people there moved and worked slowly was because of the heat, humidity and the closeness of everything. The more (faster) you moved, the hotter you become.

The last stop was Coco Cay, Bahamas (owned by Royal Caribbean). As we were entering the port I took the picture of the sailboat and never saw a lightning strike. Later that night, when I reviewed my pictures, I was startled to see the lightning in the photo. Now it is one of my favorite photos. It was sunny as we were coming into port but it later turned into on and off showers. The weather was warm with a nice breeze. I lazed under an umbrella and, as the showers came and went, I only got wet from the knees down but was never cold. The cruise line had nice food (hamburgers, hot dogs, BBQ, fruit, and beverages). Then the seagulls started flying all around us and occasionally stole food. They were very aggressive and would get as close as a couple feet (can anyone say aggressively hungry?).

On board the ship was fantastic. I could write a book about the things that went on, the fine service, the wonderful shows and, of course, the duty free shopping. The food was greater than great and there was a different menu each day. The on-board casino kept me and my wife occupied (she won the slot machine contest. I came in thirteen out of the many people that entered) and the drinks flowed freely (not free). I love being retired and on a constant vacation. It was so wonderful that we signed up for a cruise in December 2017, but all good things must come to an end and it did.

Getting back to Imperial Plaza, via Imperial Plaza’s bus, was easy, especially with the traffic (only a couple slow downs). Then the bottom fell out. We knew there was a wind storm but we didn’t expect the power outage or the destruction the wind caused. Trees were down everywhere and electricity was out. Oh well, can’t fight Mother Nature, just cope with it. We returned on Saturday afternoon and Imperial Plaza’s power came back at four thirty Sunday afternoon and then the fun began. Saturday night we stayed in a hotel and returned Sunday afternoon. Then, forgoing unpacking, we began emptying the chest freezer and refrigerator/freezer plus cleaning both. Now we will restock with the insurance payout. The company we are with is making a fast payout for the lost food.

Monday, we walked the area taking pictures of all the devastation and carnage that had occurred. It looked like a war zone with so many trees down, broken trees, trees on cars, trees on houses, and traffic lights not working. There were many vehicle accidents because where the traffic lights were out vehicles had to come to a stop. Some didn’t and, of course, there was an accident (one death that I am aware of). There was even damage to one of the buildings of Imperial Plaza. The wind was a “straight line” wind, not a tornado, as I’ve heard some people saying.

Well, I’ll close this and say “stay tuned because it’s not over yet”. This year’s traveling is not over yet. This weekend we’ll go to Maryland Live (casino) for my wife’s birthday, then the following weekend is to Colorado for my grandson’s wedding. Then to Pa. for a family reunion and I don’t remember the rest. I’m retired and I love this traveling. I’ve worked many years to have and enjoy this time in my life. You all should do the same. I wish all a good summer and safe travels. Enjoy life!

Lightning Strike

Lightning Strike

Coco Cay, Bahamas

Coco Cay, Bahamas

Grandeur of the Seas showtime

Grandeur of the Seas showtime

A resident of Coco Cay

A resident of Coco Cay

A small piece of the wind damage

A small piece of the wind damage

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28

May. ’16

I Am Retired

To be retired is greater than expected. To be able to do whatever, whenever and never have to worry about rising in the morning and going to a job. It is so nice to just lay in bed and think/relax. That is when I do my best thinking. I think about what time of morning (afternoon?) it is, what to fix for breakfast, what to wear today and dose off again, for however long it may be. Time belongs to me and not the job. Time is all there is now and I have worked a long time for this. I have been approached and chastised for not writing an article for the last two weeks. All I can say is I am retired. The article is not a job, it is pleasure, however, I ask “am required to submit an article each and every week?” I am retired and, this year, there is a lot of traveling that have been done and more to come.

While away, I do not carry my laptop, I-Pad and barely want to use my phone. There is a cruise coming up real soon and there will be very little communication for ten days plus, a wedding halfway across the country and much more. I am retired and deserve to go everywhere I can and enjoy myself without obligations to anyone (except my wife, of course) or anything. My wife and I just came from a week in Puerto Rico and I sent out, maybe, four pictures over Facebook. I really didn’t want to do that but to just stay in touch with anyone that was worried about why there wasn’t any communication. Again, we are retired. That is what retirement is all about, is it not?

Then there are people that wonder why I have a part-time job. First, the job is not hard work. Second, it is only four days a month. Third, it provides me with a tad bit of cash for my casino trips. Fourth, over the years, I have watched many people do one or two things and die. They continued to work and never had any real pleasure before or during retirement. They never retired or could not afford to retire. And those that did retire but just sat around and did nothing, passed away early and/or needed assistance to survive, never having enjoyed their retirement.

I said all of that to say this, or at least hopefully having this fact understood. The blog was to be about retirement, it is not a job to be done. The blog is to be done between my exploits, not a thing that causes everything to be stopped in order to write and print this. The blog is a pleasure writing, not a chore that is kept to a hardwired structure. And, lastly, it clears my mind for the true writing that I am into, novels and printed articles.

Hopefully I did not ruffle anyone’s feathers by writing this but truth is truth. I am on my own schedule, no one else. My wife and I do many things together and then we have our own things that are done separately. That is retirement. To do things that you want to do, at your leisure and not a calendar or clock in sight is retirement at it’s best. Most days I have to look at the paper or something else to realize what day it is and then check my pocket calendar (I have a phone appointment calendar also) to find out what I have to do today and what is coming up tomorrow. To me, today is tomorrow because tomorrow is not promised and, therefore, do whatever today because you may not be here tomorrow.

So, I’ll try to get out a blog on retirement every other week and one on religion in between that but it is not a promise or guarantee from me. If I recall correctly, when I first started this, I said I would try (I repeat “try”) to do this every week. Try is the optimum word. If there are other things you would like for me to write about, contact me and let me know. There is a comment box, use it. Until the next time…”Be kind to your neighbors because you’ll never know when you’ll need them. Also, ensure your words are soft and sweet because you’ll never know when you’ll have to eat them.”IMG_0234

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09

Jan. ’16

Mighty Pen Project

It was a great night, 1/6/16, at the Virginia War Memorial where we had the reading and reception of the Mighty Pen Project. Quite a few people were there, the food was good and the readings went very well. There was six of us, that was in the second class of the Mighty Pen Project, and I was first to read one of the pieces I wrote for the class. All of the written material was well written, very moving and covered a wide area of military life from Viet Nam to the present time.

Mr. James Triesler, Education Director of the Virginia War Memorial gave the welcome. Dr. David Coogan, Associate Professor of English, Virginia Commonwealth University and our instructor for the second class of the Mighty Pen Project, gave the remarks. Mr. David L. Robins, program founder/author/teacher at VCU, gave the introduction of readers.

The Mighty Pen Project is in need of students, like myself or better, that is military connected, past or present, and want to write. People that want to write about their military experiences, feelings, just to get things out of their system or just to leave something for their loved one, to name a few things, need this class. It’s too late to registrar for the class starting on 1/20/16 but contact can be made for the class starting in April. Each class is every Wednesday night for ten weeks and involve reading, writing and supreme insight into the material from the instructor.

Go to the Virginia War Memorial web site, www.vawarmemorial.org, for information on the Mighty Pen Project ( MPP) and the Virginia War Memorial. The Mighty Pen Project also have a Facebook page and a lot of information can be gained there. A web page and blog is in the works. Since I have joined the board, I have been appointed to help with initiating the web site and helping with future entertainment. I hope my work goes well. If anyone need information or know someone that would qualify, they can either contact me or go to one of the sites.

I know that this is not like my normal blogs but I feel that I can at least help get the word out with one or more shots from my blog. Don’t hesitate to do this and I will surly get back to you as soon as I can. There are a lot of retirees out here that would like to try this and the person does not have to be good or retired. That will come with time and it’s not to write a book (it’ll give you a start, if you want), just snippets. Well, I’ll see ya the next time. Contact me.

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28

Dec. ’15

SMILE!!

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and will have a very Happy New Year! This being the last blog for 2015 (on both sites), I would like for all of us to reflect on the good things and the bad things that have happen to us in 2015. But, always remember that even though things may seem bad for us, there is always something worst that have happen for someone else. We have survived our worst and is hoping for better things in the upcoming year. Always look ahead because it’s no use looking at what has happened. There is nothing that can be done about that now, only try, during the next chance, to be better or do better.

I always have to remember that there is no use to bury my head in the sand and hope things will go away. It will not. I constantly remind myself to keep on pushing and smile. Always smile. I see many people with a frown on their face and never a smile. A smile make you feel better and people will perceive you as a better person (and they don’t know what you are really thinking).

There are things I have accomplished, done good, and I smile and wonder what I can do to top that. There are things I have failed in and I smile but try to think about ways to do better. Smiling goes a long way and is on both sides of the coin. One good and one bad. But, smile and it will all even out in the end. There is always an end.

This year, at Imperial Plaza, there have been good and bad and I really don’t want to get into which is what. I just smile and keep going. I just remember that I have had a long and fruitful life and there is nothing that can ever take that away from me. It is time to take it easy and let the next generation fully take over. They have been an apprentice long enough. If they make mistakes, oh well, I am retired and can live through it. It is no use moaning and groaning about what is happening because it won’t do any good. No one will listen to me anyway.

Therefore, we all should sit back and let someone else drive. Give a little direction, a nod of approval or a little advice in the disapproval but we are too old to drive. I’ll keep my eyes open during 2016 but do my own thing. I have plenty of writing to do. I still have The Mighty Pen Project board that I am on. I still have my every other weekend part-time job. I have plenty on my plate. Then add in travel and other pleasures which will have the plate overflowing, but I still smile. I am trying to enjoy retirement and being a senior (I don’t like that word. I’ll try to put another word in it’s place). I’ve had a full life and it’s time to enjoy what I worked all those years for. You should try it, you may like it. And Smile! Remember, it takes fewer muscles to smile than it does to frown.

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20

Oct. ’14

Cold Is Coming

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Time is really flying, autumn is here, the air is cool and, soon, the snow will be upon us. I am not a fan of cool or cold air. It is beyond my comprehension on how people can endure the coldest of cold weather. I shiver thinking about it and don’t ever want to have anything to do with it again. I can take off clothes to make me cooler but I seem to be unable to find enough clothing to warm my body.

I guess you are wondering why. Well, Ill try to tell you why or, at least, give you enough that you’ll hopefully understand. As I was growing up it was the era of wood and coal for cooking and heating. It was my job to get the wood and coal, make the fires and keep them going in good weather or bad, warm or cold. It was never easy, in the winter, nor could I ever get the house warm enough for me. I was glad to go to school because it was warm there but it was a long walk to get there.

When I went into the U.S. Air Force I was always stationed in cold weather, with the exception of Viet Nam, Thailand, Florida and northern California (it got cold but it wasn’t too bad). The worst cold weather place was Minot, AFB, North Dakota. That place was too cold for human existence and I never want to see that place again. I thought being stationed atop a mountain in West Germany was cold but North Dakota made me rethink that thought.

I have walked K-9 patrols, in the forest (woods) and in fields, when it got so snowy and cold that we took the dogs back to the kennels and us K-9 handlers were taken back to our positions and we patrolled without dogs. It seem that it was too snowy and cold for a dog but not for a man. I still can’t wrap my brain around that thinking.

When I retired from the military and became a city policeman, I had my fights with the cold. There were always accident pile ups when it was either pouring rain, extremely cold or both. To make matters worst, I was normally the person for multiple car accidents and, when you’re wet or cold or both, things seem to slowly drag along.

Hopefully you understand why I don’t like cold weather and it will soon to be here with everything it can produce. At least now, being here at Imperial Plaza, I can just stand it my window and look out at it. Good luck to all of you this coming winter and I hope you can keep dry and warm. Take care….

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