Retirement Musings

So, seeing the pink flamingo hiding discreetly in the shadows above reminded me of Florida.  And Florida reminded me of retirees and retirement.  And that reminded me that I haven't written about the retirement subject in quite some time.

So, here are a few more thoughts..........

Retirement is not a normal human state. Every fiber of my being says: get a job, go to work, be productive, be somebody, get ahead, produce. Is that the survival instinct or the result of a lifetime of conditioning? Whichever it is, it's the script by which I lived my life - it's difficult to change and "be retired." After all, being retired is just a step away from being dead.

For me one of the hardest things about retirement is reconciling the loss of value and prestige that working in the air traffic control field offered me. I enjoyed doing important and useful work.



On the other hand, I am finding that retirement is a great opportunity to exercise the freedom to reinvent myself -  to try new or different things - to reinvent my daily life. I worked for "the man" for thirty years - so much of my life was controlled by that external job responsibility. My daily life revolved around my work schedule and calendar.

Sometimes now though, I face a new day with nothing on my calendar - an open agenda - a blank slate.  At first, that was somewhat terrifying, now it is a delight.  To have the freedom to just make up something (or nothing) to do - like I did as a kid growing up in the 1950's.  Leave the house early and be home by dark.  What a treat! I recognize that I am a lucky man that I can do that - many people don't get to enjoy the reward of retirement.



Nowadays, I don't provide the same value to the workplace that I once did.  So I must figure out how to provide some other value to the world.  I have chosen to pursue a creative endeavor by publishing this blog. I create images, and text, and weave them together in such a way as to tell a very brief story when I publish the post. Interested people all over the world get to learn a little bit about the places I visit and the things I do or see. Sometimes I create "art" and sometimes I relay "just the facts." It has been and still remains a challenge to go from a type-A occupation to the persona of a creative type.

I realize that the end of my life is nearer than the beginning.  The time to dilly-dally is over.  I must pursue any unfulfilled dreams without delay.  I want to take advantage of the opportunities I encounter. I want to honor the gift of life that I am so lucky to enjoy.  With so much horror in the world, I attempt to shine one small ray of hope and light through this blog.



Daily, I want to be kind; to appreciate life in the moment; to eat healthful vegan foods; to be creative; to exercise; to live up to my commitments; to treat all with dignity and respect; to not wait for life to unfold, but rather to unfold it; to not be annoyed at minor things; to enjoy the gift of life; and to eat lots of dark chocolate. Many times, I am successful - especially eating chocolate.

Dreamers, Priscilla Beach Theatre, Priscilla Beach, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

Many of you readers have asked me over the past year about my apparent fascination/obsession/cheerleading and frequent focus in this blog on Priscilla Beach Theatre. Well, I've been thinking it over and here's your answer:

A few years ago I wandered into the Barn Stage at Priscilla Beach Theatre. The wind whistled through the rotted sections of wall and rustled the leaves inside on the floor. Support structures were rotted from rain and weather damage because the building had deteriorated over a decade of neglect. I probably shouldn't have even been in there.

But now, a year and half later, Priscilla Breach Theatre just finished its sold-out performance season in the newly restored Barn Stage. How is that possible?

It is about the power of dreams. Bob and Sandy Malone, owners and guardians of PBT, didn't just decide randomly one day to sink a ton of money, energy, time, and effort into a dilapidated old barn theatre. It started with a dream - a vision - to rejuvenate this icon of local American theatre.

There were many who said it couldn't be done - tear it down and start anew was the chorus of advice. The obstacles were daunting but, the Malones persevered.  Putting one foot in front of the other, they moved forward with a singular purpose and determination to achieve this dream.

And through their dream, they have created a place where the dreams of others can blossom. I've been there many, many times during the past year and seen the excited, alive, jubilant, energized kids and adults living their own dreams through this theatrical campus.

Drama is a world of make-believe as old as humankind - storytelling in word, song, and movement. The Malones provide a venue for thousands to enjoy the opportunity to create, speak, sing, dance, and act. The venue also provides an opportunity for thousands more to watch and hear the performances.

Who among us has the motivation and determination to take the risk and chance to follow their dream? Not too many of us but, the Malones did. And their action was and is an inspiration to me and the countless aspiring actors and actresses who have benefited from the restored availability of this campus. What the Malones have done at and for Priscilla Beach Theatre is worthy of note and celebration - and I chose to do that in this blog.

Amidst the madness and chaos of our modern world, there is the occasional oasis where life is lived intensely - a place where dreamers can dream and their dreams can come true. Priscilla Beach Theatre is such an oasis. Dreamers make our world come true.

Thanks for asking - sorry I took so long to answer.



Pre-restoration - May 2014.



Rotted decking - May 2014.



Swirling leaves on the floor - May 2014.



Bob and Sandy Malone (and family) at the ribbon cutting ceremony on July 10, 2015



July 2015.

You can revisit all my posts about Priscilla Beach Theatre at this link. Posts covering only the restoration and construction project are at this link.

Musings: Some Random Observations About Life, Manomet, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

One of the advantages of walking a lot for exercise is that it is possible to think at the same time - usually.  While I wander around and try to create something - photos, text, stories, snippets for this blog - random thoughts about life often intrude and I scribble a note to myself - I am old school and use paper and pen. 

For example, today I was thinking about fitness - as a 62-year old male with heart disease, I have learned to focus on taking better care of my health (wish I had started when I was 20). Exercise, diet, and lifestyle are always under my control. If I don't keep fit, the rest of life doesn't matter very much.

I have decided that for every 10,000-step daily quota that I achieve, I get to add another day onto my lifespan - seems like a good idea, whether it is true or not.

It takes 120 steps to climb up off the beach. I look forward to it as cardio exercise instead of drudgery.  If I can stay fit, perhaps I can keep the grim reaper at bay a few more years.

A a young kid, most boys in my neighborhood dreamed of being a policeman, fireman, airline pilot, baseball player or heavy equipment operator - even now, who can resist the appeal of the "mighty claw."  Superhuman strength of comic book proportion - does the thrill ever leave? 

And speaking of kids, these trees remind me of my youth.  I climbed pine trees as a young boy.  I'd perch near the top and listen to the wind whispering through the needles, feeling the swaying of the trunk in the breeze, and dream the dreams of boys everywhere - to drive fire trucks, catch bad guys, fly fighter planes, be a sports star, or be a super-hero performing feats of super-human strength.  And when I'd climb down, my hands were covered with pine sap which I would carelessly smear on inappropriate surfaces. Ah, youth.

The wind has stopped.  The temperature is that rare number when you can't really tell where your body ends and the air begins - they meld into the same thing.  Perfect comfort.

People write for different reasons.  Many of the things I say in these blog posts are written to give voice to otherwise fleeting thoughts of some note. For example, I've been thinking about joy - how to induce more - if there isn't enough joy in my life then it is up to me to create more - it's that simple - joy isn't bestowed on me by others - it's in my attitude.   

Maybe I should just get a dog so I can talk to him/her instead of publishing these ramblings.

(Note: all images made with cellphone).

Father's Day

I decided to write a post about Father's Day this year. Not my normal subject matter. Truth be told, I've usually thought cynically of both Father's and Mother's Day as mostly a commercial push by candy, flower, and necktie businesses to increase their sales. This year, though, I'm thinking about my own father, not the commercialism. I've decided to pay tribute to him this year. I don't think I've ever done that before. (Above left - my mother and father in the early 1950's; right - my father and me, early 1950's).

You see, I never knew him nor much about him. He died of a heart attack when I was four years old. I don't remember anything about him nor was there much talk about him over the years. But now, I wonder more and more as I grow older who was he? what kind of a father would he have been? what kind of man was he?

This is who I want him to be:

My father was a kind, loving, and thoughtful man. He focused on the needs of his family, sometimes subordinate to his own needs.  He set a good example by always treating others with dignity and respect.  He knew that his kids watched and saw his every behavior and that his example was, over the long term, likely of more value and impact than his words. Still, he recognized that words are powerful and spoke kindly and helpfully to me as I learned how to be my own human.

He sat on the couch with me and read book after book after book after book until one day, I could proudly read on my own.  And he hid his sadness from me that he could no longer share those special moments reading together, side by side, thigh against thigh, like we had done.

He pushed me on my bike for hours and hours, panting out of breath, until finally, I could balance on my own and pedal away. And he hid his sadness from me that he could no longer share those special moments learning to ride together like we had done.

He played catch in the yard even when sometimes he didn't want to. And he hid his sadness from me that he could no longer share those special moments playing catch when I found other kids to play with and my interests moved on.

He let me drive his car real slowly on a quiet dirt road long before I was old enough to get my own license. He made sure I could pursue my dreams and supported my efforts to do so. He gave me the life skills to thrive on my own when I left the nest to fly through life on my own.  And he hid his sadness from me that he could no longer share those special moments being together in the same household.

So where is all this introspective rambling going? Well, you see, I've been a father for 23 years now.  And since I didn't have an experience or image of what a "real father" was supposed to be, I made it up as I went along.  I guess all fathers make it up as they go along whether they have a role model or not. My goal was to try to achieve the qualities I listed above for my imaginary father.

So I say, "Happy Father's Day!" - to the father I never knew - to fathers everywhere - and to me, a father. If you haven't and you still can - call or write your own father - he may not know how to show how much he appreciates it but I assure you - he does - to the bottom of his heart.

Mobility

These gulls made me think about mobility. With the wings to fly almost anywhere, they picked this mostly empty asphalt parking lot to just sit a spell and relax in the warm fall sunshine. I like that. I think I'll find a sunny spot to sit and think about it.

An Observation, White Horse Beach, Manomet, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

As I wander along the beach as I often do, I will sometimes see a beleaguered dad sitting in his beach chair with a toddler at his side begging him to come play - build a sand castle, play in the surf, throw a ball, come on daddy, come on daddy, come on daddy, play with me........

But daddy just wants to sit and relax. I have walked many miles along many beaches and seen this same story play out many times. 

I wonder if daddy realizes there will come a day when he would give or do anything to have those moments back and to be able to make the choice to play instead of sitting in his chair - to build a memory of involvement and participation.

The youthful years of our children are so fleeting but we don't always note that fact while it is happening.  It's only with hindsight that we realize it's gone and will never return.

Dad's behavior is not through neglect nor mean spirit but dad is tired from the work week and just wants to sit and rest a bit. The kid on the other hand, is raring to go.

Maybe that's one of the reasons why grandparents are often so sweet and doting - trying to make up for their own behavior when they were parents.

I want to walk over and tell daddy all this and help him see the future but, I know my advice won't be received well. Twenty years ago when I was sitting in that chair, I wouldn't have received that advice well either.

White Horse Beach at low tide. (Panorama - click to view full width).

Guacamole, Puerto Aventuras, Quintana Roo, Riviera Maya, Mexico

In 26 days, we have purchased and consumed 183 avocados for guacamole.  Yes, we like guacamole - and with avos here in Mexico costing anywhere from 25-50 cents each (USD), we are making the most of the great deal. (At home, they cost $1.00- $2.00 (USD) each depending on the season).  Note: we have had visitors and house guests so it's not like I ate it all myself.

Breakfast, lunch, dinner or a snack, guac is always a great food choice for us. Seven ingredients - avos, jalapeños, onion, tomato, lime, cilantro, and salt.

Guacamole makes an excellent companion to bean, rice, and salsa tacos with a side of julienne veggies. I bet you'd like a bite right now even if you are not a vegan.

Guacamole: A Vegan Treat

An astute observer of guacamole making will recognize 5 of the 7 ingredients in the photo above. (Missing is salt and cilantro). I tried using a soft focus effect on the photo but frankly, it just looks a bit blurry to me. Avocado count is at 56 in just the first week here, although they are sold by kilo weight, breaking it down per unit, the price has ranged from 30-50 cents US each depending on where they were purchased. Sure beats the range of 1-2 dollars US each we must pay in Massachusetts.

In my obsessive-compulsive method of guacamole making, the supporting cast (jalapeño, tomato, lime, salt, red onion, and cilantro),  has been chopped, diced and mixed thoroughly into a bowl to get to know each other and form a spiritual and magical bond of flavors.  The whole is greater than the sum of the parts. 

Meanwhile, the stars of the performance, the avocados, sit patiently waiting to join their supporting cast to make the orchestra complete.  Ah, guacamole.... my love.... my life.......your creamy smoothness and fiery bite so excite my palate...... you, my Mexican lover......ahhhhhhhhhhhh. 

Okay, yes, I have gone a bit too far - I'll stop now. I must go to the local farmer's market and buy more!

Firewood

The need for wood is at hand. It is winter in New England. The smell of wood smoke is in the air. It evokes good feelings of warmth and survival, camaraderie and youth, and sitting around a campfire. Winter here requires artificial warmth - the sun is not enough. Firewood isn't just a thing. It represents a dynamic process that must be managed closely. Based on climate, house size, and efficiency, one might need generally in the range of 2-10 cords a year. That's a lot of chopping, splitting, and carrying.

The years of growth tell a story like the sandstone layers of the Grand Canyon.

A stump and an ax are telltale signs of an active wood stove inside a home.

The greens of summer have given way to wintry browns. The reeds, grasses, trees, bushes all changed.  This house, normally obscured from view, becomes visible from the water at this time of year. Their load of logs needs to be cut, split, stacked, and seasoned. Much more difficult than turning up the thermostat. 

Winter in New England separates the hearty from the not so.  I am one of the not so. 

A Day in Winter

Behind Door Number 1:  Before dawn at latitude 42 degrees north in Massachusetts, it is cold, dark, and often covered in snow.

Even when the sun is up and the snow is gone, the branches are bare and the wind is cold and strong.

Behind Door Number 2: A thousand miles farther south at latitude 32 north in South Carolina, it looks much differently. Chilly but not really cold, no snow.

Behind Door Number 3: Another thousand miles south at latitude 21 degrees north in Quintana Roo, Mexico, you can be outside at dawn in summer attire.

I pick Door Number 3..................

Electricity

I am having some electrical work done at my home right now and it got me thinking.

I live in a society which offers essentially unlimited quantities of electricity.  At the same time, in many other parts of the world, more than a billion people have no electricity in their homes.

It is rare to see folks in this country (of almost any age) not carrying some sort of electrically powered device (battery or plug-in).  Whether a phone, camera, ipad, ipod, bluetooth earplug, music headphones, etc.

One of the consequences of using electrical power is the annoying sound of all our machines: music, mowers, mulchers, chain saws, weed whackers, boats, airplanes, grinders, compressors, radios, etc. - they all use electricity in varying ways.

Sure would be quieter without all those devices. On the other hand, without electricity all we could hear would be the barking dogs and screaming people. I'm not sure which option is better..................

Consider the Gull, White Horse Beach, Manomet, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

Consider the gull. Everything it owns is with it at all times.  When ready to go, it goes.  It needs neither to find keys, nor grab a coat.  Everything is always at the ready. To paraphrase the late comedian George Carlin, they have no stuff - none to store, none to buy, none to sell, none to trade, none to protect - they have no stuff.  Sometimes I'm envious.

The downside is that winter's coming, the wind is cold off the water, I can pull my coat tighter, cover up with hat and gloves, go home to a warm house - but the gull must endure.  Although many/most are migratory, we have gulls here all year.  Are the ones here in winter from northern Canada and think they are warm in New England by comparison?  Would they rather be in Miami but don't know it exists?  Are they like a lot of northerners who just plain don't like Florida? Or, are they just waiting to get older to go to Florida?  I read that Herring Gulls can live into their late 40's - that may be bird old but it's not Florida old. Oh well.

How to Publish a Blog

People have asked me, "how do you make a blog post?" so I thought I'd write a short blog post about how I make a short blog post. 

First of all, get your pet off your keyboard. Second, and most importantly, remember that a blog is a creative act. You control every step - your blog is a reflection of what you want it to be. It is your creation. It is electronic art.

Step-by-step........... 

Concept

1. you must either open a blog account (Blogger and Wordpress are two of the most popular and common platforms) or you can use your own website if you have one 
2. decide the basic style - will it be words only, pictures only, a mix of both; what is the desired length, tone, theme; what audience do you want to reach
3. think up places to go or things to do or ideas to express
4. carry a pencil and pad or scraps of paper to write and retain ideas (retaining becomes an issue sometimes for "people of a certain age") 
5. imagine a theme for the post and tease it out into coherence
6. keep it short or lose the audience
7. my goals are: each post should be beautiful, interesting, informative, witty, smart and it must not exceed about one minute in duration -  I often miss one, some, or all of these goals - it is always a challenge 
8. people are busy - if you want them to come back, say little but say it well
9. generally, people do not want to read long ramblings   

Images

1. decide what pictures to take and where to take them
2. go on location to take the pictures
3. upload pictures to your computer for post-processing
4. review the rough images for  broad thematic overview and whether you can tell the story you have in mind
5. select the best images that tell the story (or change the story)

Post-processing

1. edit the selected images in computer software
2. that edit includes adjust light levels, tweak the shadows, midtones, highlights
3. adjust the brightness and contrast, color temperature and saturation
4. choose size/shape and crop accordingly
5. save final image for export to blog platform
6. proceed to your blog platform template 

Writing and Editing

1. create a title for the post, mindful of easing the search possibilities for readers and Googlers 
2. create labels and identify the location
3. upload the final edited images from your computer to the blog platform
4. place the images in proper order to tell the story
5. write the text/caption under/over/beside some or all of the images
6. review and edit completed draft for flow and readability
7. proofread for spelling, layout, spacing, grammar, and syntax
8. proofread again for spelling, layout, spacing, grammar, and syntax
9. proofread once more for spelling, layout, spacing, grammar, and syntax

Publishing

1. preview final version to be published
2. hold your breath and press the "publish" button
3. relax and be awed by the idea that you have just sent your creation out for anyone in the entire world with access to the internet to enjoy - what a world we live in!
4. repeat all above for the next post

Other Stuff

I generally post five to seven times every week.  Time-wise I spend twenty to forty hours a week to accomplish that. Sometimes I have images but no words yet, or words but no images yet.  I often will have five to ten posts in various stages of completion.  I am not a news reporter - I don't feel compelled to publish immediately after an event or after I have the images.  I am the creator, writer, photographer, proofreader, editor, critic, and publisher - it's ready when it's ready. Sometimes, a nap takes precedence.

I didn't start out with high expectations.  As a retiree, blogging gave me something constructive and creative to do, allowed me to write a little, take pictures a little, have a place to keep photos that wouldn't get lost and moldy in a basement box, and might be informative or entertaining to others.

I do not choose to include advertising.  Maybe someday but not this day.

Little did I know that readers would find and read my blog in all 50 of the United States (and Washington DC), and more than 160 countries and/or territories around the world. To date, more than 150,000 page views. I am astounded at that.

Did I mention to proofread carefully before publishing?........

A Few More Thoughts About Retirement

I sat a few feet away from this gull to see how long it would take before he flew away.  It was quite a while. But I had a while to wait.

So, here are a few more ramblings in my occasional posts about retirement.

1. Watching the gull take wing, leaving the bonds of earth - it must have been magical to early humans. I remember from early school days that the study of flight was quite intriguing to Leonardo daVinci. I recall that his notes and dreams portrayed flight themes. It is nice to have time to sit and watch, to not feel hurried all the time - to indulge a whim and not be always "scheduled"  - to imagine flying.

2. I don't want to do as much stuff as I used to do. Under-scheduling is better than over-scheduling. Does that mean I'm lazy, or old, or retired, or smart, or all of the above? I'm not interesting in doing, seeing, having, being everything. I'd rather lightly step into the remaining years rather than race panting and out of breath trying to do it all. Two very different approaches to living.

3. I can drive or walk to a nearby market and procure fresh and/or packaged foods all year around with rarely an absence or shortage. Even fresh veggies in the middle of winter.What a remarkable feat that is in the world and one enjoyed by few.  But at what cost to the planet? Many of the humans around the world have no electricity, no safe and consistent water supply, nor a safe and secure consistent food supply.  The "New World" has afforded us extraordinary bounty.

4. The cell phone is a two-edged sword. It's great for an emergency but, I 'm not so keen on the idea that anyone can interrupt me at any time they choose. Why is that a good thing? My generation spent 50 years of ours lives unencumbered with forced external intrusion.  Parents used to shoo kids out of the house to play until the next mealtime. Why should someone on a phone have the right to interrupt and take precedence over someone who is there in person? That seems to be who we have become as a culture.

5. Life has demarcation points, both positive and negative - before and after first love, before and after marriage, before and after birth of child, before and after death of a parent, before and after heart attack, before and after cancer, before and after......  Retirement is a also clear demarcation point.  To go from having to work to bring in  money versus not having to work to bring in money.

6. Sometimes, retirement just feels like I am still on a really long vacation - that quasi mental state when you relax but not quite completely without  fleeting thoughts of work.  But work has changed.  Now, instead of thinking about air traffic control, my thoughts are of my new "work" - the somewhat artistic pursuit of publishing a blog almost daily - ideas, thoughts, photos, text, messages, themes, the task ahead. Work is life - work is part of our human condition as long as we can physically and/or mentally do so and still draw breath.

7. I have a growing recognition that there is an end - deferring dreams until later is not a good idea.  There may not be a later.

8. I think I'll go for a walk and ponder - or maybe just wander aimlessly and enjoy being alive.

Sometimes, just sitting in the yard with a cup of something and saying "hello" to passersby is hard to improve upon. (This isn't me, just another retiree staying at a Bed and Breakfast in downtown Plymouth).

Perfect Moments

The sun warm on the skin, the air chilled, the wind strong and steady, only a few people out and about at low tide - a great moment to appreciate the natural world here in southeast Massachusetts.

To me, it is a special feeling to have the warm sun and the cool wind on one's skin - a singularly great thing - except that's really two things isn't it?

And I'm particularly fond of golden light on a late afternoon in fall.

And long shadows tilting through a forest, chipmunks scampering, the aromatic scent of pine trees and the soft give of their needles underfoot.

Creativity

Since I don't have a traditional daily "job" to go to anymore, I have been increasingly fascinated by the creative process - to make something from nothing.  Creating blog posts has become my creative process outlet. In the image above, I purposefully moved the camera downward while shooting a fall scene in a rainstorm to create the vertical striations. 

Or taking all the color out of this scene except on the balloons. Creativity is perhaps the essence of life - whether to fill silence with notes and words, or paint or film, or digital files, or gardens, or whatever.........

Or to freeze a moment of uncommon beauty.

Or to shift a  perspective of a common object - in this case a boat.

Or to interject an unexpected element.

Or to capture a special moment.

Or to freeze and suspend an object normally in motion. 

Or to reduce an idyllic beach setting to black and white to accent the shapes and patterns instead of the colors.

Or to capture a hallmark motion  for a particular creature - a diving pelican.

Or to show a silhouette of a musician with only the hint of music through his closed guitar case.

Or to wind-up a windmill.

Or to manipulate light and shadow on a common staircase.

Or to stop and capture pastoral beauty in an overlooked everyday view.

Or to take out all the color, impose sandy grit and grain, and draw the viewer's eye within.

Or to only have a tiny touch of understated color.

Or to catch the early morning raindrops on flower petals.

Or by manipulating light and contrast to make a footprint that seems to be raised but isn't.

Or to disrupt a resting flock of gulls into the setting sun.

Creativity requires some element of solitary reflection and thoughtful intention.  I create blog posts - some are great, some are good, some are factual and informative, some are not so good at all but, it's about the process more than the product, the journey rather than the destination - I guess like life. Death is the end but not the goal - life is the process; and so also, creativity. This is fun.

I think I'll go create something today - maybe just random acts of kindness and goodwill.