Life's Fast Lane

I have recently agreed to have my Life Happens articles appear in the editorials of the Cleveland Daily Banner here in Cleveland, TN. My new book, The Bullet, should be available mid summer. I am very excited about this piece of work. Thanks to each and everyone of you that read my material and share it with your friends.

 

 

 

 

 

Life’s Fast Lane

 

  At work by eight, lunch at noon and home by six, the American way of life. We tend to rush through everything and enjoy very little. If we can squeeze in a moment we might daydream about that well deserved vacation at the beach or a mountain resort, only to be brought back to life by the telephone ringing. After a hard day at the office, plant or retail store, we arrive home to “what are we going to do for supper?”

 

Life is a rat race and we are running in the maze. It takes both parents today to support the family budget and usually we can’t figure out where the money goes. Oh, to be young and running in the fast lane avoiding the bumps and grinds of the life that is speeding past us at mach speed. I ran that race and have found that retirement is the prescription for the ailments that go with time flying by and fast pace living. I spent my working career as a “Road Warrior” traveling the highways and byways, as well as the airways, in search of the one goal “SUCCESS.”

 

Having a type A personality and an avid workaholic, life centered around the success factor we are all striving for. I can remember saying, “I will never retire, I will find something to do to occupy my time.” Words have a different taste as you reinsert them back into your mouth. When I retired I can remember my brother, who is just like me, telling me he was afraid I would retire and die, thinking I would sit and do nothing. Haunting words as if starting a life of retirement not sure of what the future holds and if there will be enough funds to live on is not frightening enough. Words that make you stop and think, “Am I doing the right thing?” I am proof that you are what you want to be. From the first day of retirement I have had an active schedule and at times wonder when I had time to work.

 

I love to play golf and I have come to the reality that as long as I am playing, Tiger Wood and Phil Mickelson do not have to worry about me competing for their titles. I don’t play well, but I love to hit that little white ball, then hop into a motorized cart and go find it only to hit it again and so on. I enjoy watching the older retired gentlemen congregate in the club house and argue over their score from the morning play. They always show a mood of happiness, I think that comes from the comradery of the company and the fellowship the men enjoy. The golf course is a place where men can dress very tacky and get away with it.

 

Most guys will wear shorts and a polo shirt when playing every day golf but when a tournament is the event and then the dress gets a little fancy. Bright colorful pants with a nice polo shirt, usually white or a bright pastel lime green, purple or even pink. Bubba Watson even uses a pink driver when he hits from the Tee box. No matter how you play, a bad day on the golf course is better than a good day at work, unless you are Donald Trump. I once saw a sign in a restaurant in Augusta, Georgia that sums up a day at the golf course, “A good day at the golf course is when I hit the ball further than I throw my club.” That’s a very interesting concept.

 

Retirement is great, it has been four years since I put up the bag, stored the sales manuals, and put away the address book with customer’s names and phone numbers. Days are easy, if it doesn’t get accomplished today then as Scarlett O’Hara said in Gone with the Wind, “Tomorrow is another Day.” I have only two set times to do anything any longer, at 11a.m. and 3 p.m. The Price is Right and Let’s Make a Deal comes on and seldom do I miss those shows. I can stop for snacks at anytime of the day without worrying about being late for an appointment and if someone calls and sounds like they have a problem, I simply ask, “Who is this?” I joke and tell people that since I retired I don’t have to think any longer so I never have to solve problems for others.

 

One of the best features of retirement is the senior citizen discount; you would be surprised how many companies offer us old people discounts. Recently I went into Burger King and didn’t have to ask for the discount it was given automatically. I didn’t know whether to get upset or thank her for being so observant. I am called Sir more often and people seem to be nicer to me, however checking the obituaries is a task. You really don’t want to but feel you need to and then wished you had not done it.

 

Getting old has its advantages, the young girls smile at you more because they know you are harmless and if you do something stupid people think it’s just because you’re old. Another advantage is the music, when a youngster is singing a song you can say, “I remember when the Beatles recorded that back in the day or show them pictures of how we looked at their age and watch them make faces while wearing the gosh awful stuff they have on. Yep getting old is not for sissies and the faint of heart.

 

I like my life and I get up each morning thanking God for another day to enjoy it. The bulk of my days are sitting in my office putting my words on paper or the internet. Will I ever be a famous writer or blogosipher (I may have created a new word), no I won’t. Will I ever gather a huge following, I would love to think so, but if no one ever reads my words it doesn’t matter. I enjoy sending my thoughts out into the atmosphere and seeing where they may land, kind of like the guy that put a note in a bottle, threw into the sea to see if anyone would ever find it. My grandchildren one day will find an old trunk in a dusty smelly old attic or shed, open a box and find all the things I have written and have a good laugh or maybe a good cry, I have been known to write some pieces that are sad. Whatever happens to my words it makes me feel good to write them and share my thoughts.

 

Goodness, its four o’clock and the senior meal at Golden Corral just started. Gotta go!

 

“Life Happens”