The Road East: Day 3

Day 3 dawned this morning with clear beautiful blue skies and we were on the road to our retirement by 8:00 a.m.  And our first stop is what I’m going to label as step 4 on my 12-step retirement program.  Treat yourself to something yummy for breakfast, even though you know it’s really not good for you, because sometimes it’s just fun – and yummy – to do so.

The Road East:  Day 2

I think there should be a 12-step program for major life changes such as retirement.  One day you’re working full time, the next day you’re not.  There should be some kind of phasing out period.  Don’t you think?

The Road East: Day 1

You know how people say, “If you had told  me 5 years ago that I’d be doing x, y, z, I would have told you were crazy?”  Yeah.  It’s like that.  I took stock of what Abi and I have done in the past 5 years and I kinda don’t even believe it, but here we are on the road to retirement.

On the Road to Retirement

Sometimes, when you’re trying to figure out how you’re going to get it all done, an angel comes along and loans you her car.  Not only does she loan you her car, but she tells you to keep it until the day before you leave.  Sometimes, “thank you” doesn’t even begin to cut it.

There’s nothing like a good old-fashioned small town 4th of July parade to remind one of the grand ‘ole flag.

“We see the world through the lens of all our experiences;

that is a fundamental part of the human condition.”

As we traveled across the USA this past December and January, there were several places and stories, such as the Battle of Franklin, that really stood out and have stayed with me; sitting on a little brain shelf waiting to be dusted off and told.  Some stories are easy.  Some, not so much because I want to do the characters justice by finding just the right niche…the not so common side of things.

Imagine living to be 99-years-old and living your entire life in the same place, never going beyond what you know.  This is the story of Alfred – Alfred Jackson – an enslaved man who spent the better part of his life in servitude to President Andrew Jackson.

When we travel, and when we walk in the paths of those who came before us, I have a tendency to fixate on a singular person of interest.  I want more than the surface story, I want the details, the behind the scenes story. I’ll read everything I can find on the person, i.e. Johnny Cash, until I exhaust the resources.  And, if I’m lucky enough to find videos on YouTube, I’ll watch as many as I possibly can.

“Man, that record came out and was real big in Memphis.

They started playing it, and it got real big.

Don’t know why-the lyrics had no meaning.”

Elvis Presley