Category: Memoir

Love Memoir

Peace in the Tyrol

By Rich Marin | by Rich Marin

The Tyrol (or Tirol) is a historic region in the Alps that straddles the Austrian-Italian border. There’s the Austrian Tyrol, which forms the Austrian state of Tyrol (Bundesland Tirol) with its capital of Innsbruck and South Tyrol (Südtirol/Alto Adige), the southern part that became Italian territory after World War I. That is now an autonomous province of Italy with its capital being Bolzano/Bozen (the place of my state’s heritage). There’s area is still largely German-speaking…

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Love Memoir Retirement

On Health

By Rich Marin | by Rich Marin

Everyone knows that health is wealth, but it is also said that “Health is not valued till sickness comes”. Well, this past Sunday morning, for the first time in a long time, I awoke to the beginning symptoms of a cold. A typical cold follows a fairly predictable pattern over 7-10 days. It starts with scratchy or sore throat, sneezing, and fatigue. Then symptoms intensify – nasal congestion becomes heavy, runny nose with clear or…

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Memoir Retirement

Digging in the Dirt

By Rich Marin | by Rich Marin

Like in most of North America, spring does not officially start on this hilltop until march 20 with the Vernal Equinox. However, with tempertures trending for over a week now into the mid-80s, it’s hard not to think of this as a spring season. Both my plants and my gardening instincts are starting to bud. Last week I planted nine new cacti/succulents mostly along the lower drive and roadway. I am noticing those areas more…

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Fiction/Humor Memoir

Sartorial Goings On

By Rich Marin | by Rich Marin

Today I took two sports jackets into my local tailor to have them significantly cut down to size. On Sunday, I went to put on one to wear to my sister’s 75th surprise birthday party and I felt like I was putting on a moo-moo. I was swimming in the jacket. That caused me to take that and another jacket in for the resizing. I have found a decent local tailor that is very reasonable…

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Memoir

Public Speaking

By Rich Marin | by Rich Marin

Last night we attended a surprise birthday party for my older sister, Kathy. Kathy is three years my senior, so she was turning 75. As an aside, both Kim and I are quite amazed at how young and vital she seems at 75, an age we have spent a lifetime thinking is old and yet which Kathy Reid very well. She is still very engaged in her architectural work and goes out into the field…

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Memoir Retirement

The Puzzle of Life

By Rich Marin | by Rich Marin

Every morning, Kim spends her time with her puzzles. People are drawn to puzzles for a surprisingly rich mix of reasons. The most obvious one is the satisfaction of solving something. There’s a genuine dopamine hit when pieces of a puzzle click together or you crack a solution. It’s one of the few activities in life with clear, achievable “wins” that you fully control. There is also the mindful escape aspect of puzzling. Puzzles demand…

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Memoir

Birthday Boy

By Rich Marin | by Rich Marin

Yes, today is my 72nd birthday and I feel great. I am two years older than my father was when he died and the same age as my maternal grandfather when he died (in an accident), but still 28 years shy of the age goal that my mother attained. I’m sitting here thinking about my day and find myself thinking about how fortunate I am and how good I feel about my life at this…

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Memoir

Catalina Day

By Rich Marin | by Rich Marin

I first went to Catalina Island in 2005 with Kim to meet her family. Catalina Island is a beautiful destination off the Southern California coast, 22 miles southwest of Los Angeles in the Pacific Ocean. It’s main town is Avalon (population ~4,000), nestled in a small harbor on the protected northeast side (facing the mainland). Access to the island is via ferry from Long Beach, San Pedro, Dana Point, or Newport Beach and it is…

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Love Memoir

A Lull in the Program

By Rich Marin | by Rich Marin

It’s been a while since I’ve written about my weight loss program, so I thought an update was in order. I am now about four months into my Zepbound journey and just finish bed my 10mg dose allotment. That means I an two thirds of the way through what they say is a 22% average weight loss program. I am currently 12% down in weight, so a bit further than half way there. While on…

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Love Memoir

The Mountains of My Memory

By Rich Marin | by Rich Marin

My youngest son Thomas now lives in Denver. There are lots of reasons that he and his wife moved there last year, but one of the big reasons I suspect is ent many young people gravitate to Colorado…for the skiing. All three of my children were raised on spending their winters skiing, mostly in Park City, Utah, where I kept a ski house for fifteen years. In my day, I used to spend 35-45 days…

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