More Stuff.....

Yes another entry. My mind has been actually working lately a little better; therefore I have thoughts to share. Lucky you.

One event that took place just the other day was losing an aunt of mine, Aunt Helen, who even after all of these years and miles separating us never felt like a stranger. It was some time ago when I last saw her but I pulled up to her old Montcalm Ave apartment and knocked on the door and that sweet lady appeared with a smile that made me know she was family and embodied everything that is good about family. The fact is if you look up love in the dictionary, likely Aunt Helen’s picture is beside it. She was one of a kind and I know of no person who could ever say a bad thing about her, notwithstanding the Dodger fan in her. Even though I did not see her for some time, I feel as though our family took a big hit in her loss.

I am not going to get political here. Everyone knows my political leanings, so unless I feel really moved to do a political piece, I am avoiding that nonsense for now. Sometimes avoidance is the healthier option. I felt a collective sigh from my few readers after writing that statement.

Let me talk a little bit about my new home, Myrtle Beach. There is a lot to enjoy here and the ocean is beautiful and the golf course at my back door is usually quite peaceful. There is a lot to like about this place but let me tell you a few things that are a challenge. The first thing is people….not just people but lots and lots of people. Along with lots and lots of people come lots and lots of cars with mostly lost people behind the wheel. Thankfully where we live, we can choose when and when not to be encumbered by people. In my employment I must coexist on the highways with many of these people. The thing about Myrtle Beach is it would appear that all rules of driving are suspending within the city limits. Most days I actually find it entertaining to watch. These folks just sprawl all over the highways and change multiple lanes with no regard to whether or not any other vehicles are near them. Turn signals are rare as they are in most places these days and speed limit signs are a waste of tax payer money. Not surprisingly there are a lot of accidents during “the season.”

Another positive about this place is restaurants. I thought where I came from, Raleigh NC, that they had a lot of restaurants. This place is crazy with all of the restaurants. One thing they are not here, generally speaking, is cheap. A lot of choice but they cater to the throngs of weary, lost travelers and separate them from as much of their money as possible. Choices do abound, however, so it’s hard to complain about that.

So Linda and I are trying to find our way down here. There certainly are lots of things to see, some we want to see, and some we could care less about. The wax museum is probably in the latter category. They have a pretty good minor league baseball team so I will try and go to those games as I am able. Baseball seems to have a way of bringing me back to my roots. (I was a lousy little leaguer but your mind tends to push those negative things away.)

And of course there’s the beach. Myrtle Beach really is a beautiful beach and we are minutes away so hopefully we take a lot of that in. I vote for waiting for more of the lost travelers to find their way home and give me my beach back but I will try and deal with the throngs when I have to deal with them.

Linda continues to near the official retirement phase of her life. I am so happy for her and also very proud of what she accomplished with the NC United Methodist Conference. She made a lot of lifetime friends and was generally surrounded by the highest caliber of people. I still must slave for the man for a few more years unless Ed McMahon comes to my door. (Wait he’s dead)

So to sum this little entry up; I am blessed.

Big Changes...

So I’ve not written much for a while. Part of it was because of how busy Linda and I have been trying to basically retool our new home and new life. I’ve been so tired at the end of every day I basically spent a lot of my time like a lump on our sofa.

I know that over these past several months I have inundated Facebook with pictures in and around our new digs. The positives outweigh any challenges with our move so I have decided to try to focus only on the positives.

Many of you know that I was quite involved with my church in many ways. I’m not sure how I ever fill the void that has been left in that regard. I am church hunting but I made so many friendships and went through so much personally through St Timothy’s Church that to find a place that will even come close to my Raleigh church home will be difficult at best. I must tell you that the Vestry and parish gave me a little send-off that was humbling and even now I am overwhelmed when I think about all of the outpouring of love and good wishes. The single most difficult thing about this move was moving further from all of those friends I cherish.

So I have settled in and soon Linda will finally retire and settle in as well. She is also going through a difficult period. Everyone who still works always is jealous of those who can retire but I must tell you while physically and emotionally she needs this, I am seeing that her love and contact of all of the people she worked with over 15 years with the NC United Methodist Conference is something she will dearly miss. She has been especially blessed to have the high caliber of people she most closely worked with and you cannot put a value on that.

We are blessed to have Linda’s sister and husband Jeff in the same town so we can connect with them regularly. It is always good to have family close. That has been a challenge as well because my daughter Marlee and Linda’s son Bill are now 3 hours away where they were minutes away for many years. The fact is we made this move for selfish reasons in that this was a step for us towards retirement and towards less maintenance and upkeep and more time to smell the roses. (or sea water as it were)

Now I am beginning to meet new friends and get to know my coworkers better so in that regard I am definitely headed in a positive direction. You never know how many years are in his plan for us so we are now going to try and make the best of every gift of a day we are given. And please stay in touch.

So I will start writing more as time and my physical ability allows. Based on my poor grammar and choppy sentences you can assume that mental ability is not really relevant. Happy days all!