You’re looking at the cover of my new book, which, hopefully, will be released soon. For today’s blog, I propose a contest. Assuming this gal is at or near retirement, who is she, and where is she going? You can be serious or a little crazy–most of my FB friends are 🙂 There will be […]
He chose to make it a game. Not me. Because sprinting up and down our long hill is not something I find appealing. Walking is OK; maybe even jogging. But one can’t catch this two-year-old at jogging speed. So I scold him. “You’re going inside. If you can’t stay in the yard, you can’t be […]
My friend Steve the Economics Prof calls it “opportunity cost”—the value of what you could be doing if you weren’t doing what you’re now doing. Clear? Opportunity cost is what made me miserable during the first months of retirement. I missed the students (a lot), I missed the familiar schedule and I missed a budget […]
“I wonder what sort of tale we’ve fallen into?” asked Samwise Gangee of his friend Frodo Baggins. The heroes of Tolkein’s Lord of the Rings had been discussing characters who did “brave things in the old tales and songs.” Sam and Frodo used to think these famous protagonists had chosen their adventures. Now that they […]
The blank page—it’s a writer’s greatest curse and blessing. So let’s get the bad news out first. Make no mistake; a blank page is terrifying. “What if I have no ideas?” “This blog isn’t going to write itself.” But we still do it, write, that is. Someone said writers can’t “not write.” Why? Maybe, it’s […]
I can’t avoid it any longer. I know you want to know about my first fly fishing trip. Well, I can say with certainty I visited the best place NOT to catch fish in all of Colorado. But that wouldn’t be the whole truth. My buddies caught some fish, but not me. Evidently, the waters […]
Ate at Tomasita’s last night, my favorite Mexican place in Santa Fe, New Mexico; heck, Tomasita’s is my favorite restaurant anywhere. Had the Tuesday special: a crispy taco, blue corn chicken enchilada (covered in green chili sauce) and a chili relleno (with the one-of-a-kind New Mexico red sauce). Yep, rice and beans, too. (By the […]
I see aspen trees as a fitting symbol for the retirement years. Last week, I asked the book cover guy if he could include them in his design. Why aspen? 1. On my favorite hikes, one finds aspen high on the mountain. Reach them, and the peaks (read “dreams we have spent a lifetime chasing”) […]
I want to be sappy. No, not that way. Psalm 92:14 says those who walk with God can “still yield fruit in old age; they shall be full of sap and very green.” That’s the New American Standard version. The Message translation says “They’ll grow tall in the presence of God, lithe and green, virile […]
I’m going fly fishing next week. My friend Jerry is taking me to his favorite stream in Colorado. I don’t have time for this. There are deadlines for the book, one of our rentals is empty and I have a construction project that is behind schedule. But I’m going anyway. Because, ever since I was […]