Remember travelling when you were a kid? "Are we there yet? When do we get there?" I've always had that feeling in my gut about work. When do I get to the end and get to do what I really want to do?
Well, I finally got there. Actually, I retired about 5 years ago (!) but it's taken me that many years to get my mind around it. It was impossible for me to undo 42 years of conditioning overnight. After all, I AM a first child.
Then I discovered that in order to figure out what it is that I REALLY want to do, I had to jettison a lot of material "things" that I had dragged into my new life. I discovered those things were dragging me down, keeping me tied to old ideas about what I had to own to be happy. Keeping me from being light on my feet and ready for new action.
Now that I've lightened the load, I'm still not sure what it is I want to do but I know I've always wanted to travel around the USA and see the sights.
I figure I'll follow that lead and see what follows.
At first I thought of walking. Very tempting but nah, too many weird people and you can't carry even a pistol for self-defense these days.
How about a bicycle? I've logged many miles on touring bikes. But back problems rule that out.
Next thought, traveling by motorcycle. Nah, not enough cargo space and motel rooms would soon empty the treasury.
How about the sidecar? More space for camping gear but the idea of sleeping on the ground every night (more specifically, getting up off the ground in the morning) sounds like an invitation to an addiction to pain-killers.
Then I looked at my van. Aha!
All through the 60s I was in the Air Force, overseas mostly. When I was discharged in 1970, I returned to San Francisco and an alien landscape. Men had long hair. Women burned their bras. All went barefoot, in spite of the piles of dog crap on the sidewalks. Graffiti on the walls said I should "Question Authority." All of this while the coolest music of all time played in the background.
Naturally, I was up for this! I let my hair grow for 9 years, joined a rock-n-roll band and bought a van. With the 8 track playing Van Morrison and the Allman Brothers, I explored the west coast, even down into Mexico, sleeping on a sofa bed in the back.
Now that's the way to travel. Comfortable bed, no leaky tent or wet sleeping bag, no motels and plenty of old time rock-n-roll on the CD player.
I can also indulge another passion of mine by bringing my sidecar motorcyle along on a trailer. That way I can find a nice place to set up camp for a few days and use the motorcycle to explore the area. One advantage with a sidecar is it's not threatening to citizens like a regular motorcycle. It actually encourages strangers to come up and start a conversation.
If there's one thing I really love about life, its listening to people's stories. Everybody, from the person that cleans the toilets to the person at the head of a corporation, has a story. Some oddball on a sidecar may be enough to get them to open up and tell me that story. And also to tell me where to find the best pie in town.
...more follows...
Well, I finally got there. Actually, I retired about 5 years ago (!) but it's taken me that many years to get my mind around it. It was impossible for me to undo 42 years of conditioning overnight. After all, I AM a first child.
Then I discovered that in order to figure out what it is that I REALLY want to do, I had to jettison a lot of material "things" that I had dragged into my new life. I discovered those things were dragging me down, keeping me tied to old ideas about what I had to own to be happy. Keeping me from being light on my feet and ready for new action.
Now that I've lightened the load, I'm still not sure what it is I want to do but I know I've always wanted to travel around the USA and see the sights.
I figure I'll follow that lead and see what follows.
At first I thought of walking. Very tempting but nah, too many weird people and you can't carry even a pistol for self-defense these days.
How about a bicycle? I've logged many miles on touring bikes. But back problems rule that out.
Next thought, traveling by motorcycle. Nah, not enough cargo space and motel rooms would soon empty the treasury.
How about the sidecar? More space for camping gear but the idea of sleeping on the ground every night (more specifically, getting up off the ground in the morning) sounds like an invitation to an addiction to pain-killers.
Then I looked at my van. Aha!
All through the 60s I was in the Air Force, overseas mostly. When I was discharged in 1970, I returned to San Francisco and an alien landscape. Men had long hair. Women burned their bras. All went barefoot, in spite of the piles of dog crap on the sidewalks. Graffiti on the walls said I should "Question Authority." All of this while the coolest music of all time played in the background.
Naturally, I was up for this! I let my hair grow for 9 years, joined a rock-n-roll band and bought a van. With the 8 track playing Van Morrison and the Allman Brothers, I explored the west coast, even down into Mexico, sleeping on a sofa bed in the back.
Now that's the way to travel. Comfortable bed, no leaky tent or wet sleeping bag, no motels and plenty of old time rock-n-roll on the CD player.
I can also indulge another passion of mine by bringing my sidecar motorcyle along on a trailer. That way I can find a nice place to set up camp for a few days and use the motorcycle to explore the area. One advantage with a sidecar is it's not threatening to citizens like a regular motorcycle. It actually encourages strangers to come up and start a conversation.
If there's one thing I really love about life, its listening to people's stories. Everybody, from the person that cleans the toilets to the person at the head of a corporation, has a story. Some oddball on a sidecar may be enough to get them to open up and tell me that story. And also to tell me where to find the best pie in town.
...more follows...
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