Retirement – The Old Lone Ranger

Hands Down

By Rich Marin | April 22, 2026 by Rich Marin

Occupational Therapy and what it actually does has become a topic for me lately. The name is genuinely misleading. Despite “occupational” suggesting job-related work (big shudder from the retirement community…especially Gary), the term uses occupation in its broader sense… any meaningful activity that occupies your time and gives your life structure and purpose. That includes self-care, work, leisure, social participation, and everything in between. The core purpose of occupational therapy (OT) is to help people…

Growing Pains

By Rich Marin | April 19, 2026 by Rich Marin

People grow continuously throughout life. While that is a true statement, the picture is more nuanced than simple linear growth. What clearly continues throughout life are the obvious things like wisdom and judgment, which tend to improve well into old age. In terms of emotional regulation, most people genuinely get better at managing feelings over the decades, that that is not a universal truth by any means. Vocabulary and crystallized knowledge (accumulated facts, expertise) certainly…

Love Memoir Retirement

Stiff Arming Time

By Rich Marin | April 17, 2026 by Rich Marin

We all have activities that define us. They say, “you are what you eat”. That’s a phrase with a surprisingly deep history for something that sounds like a modern wellness slogan. The saying traces back to the French gastronome Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, who wrote in his 1825 masterwork Physiologie du Goût (The Physiology of Taste): “Dis-moi ce que tu manges, je te dirai ce que tu es” — “Tell me what you eat and I…

Fiction/Humor Memoir Retirement

Thumbing My Nose At Aging

By Rich Marin | April 12, 2026April 10, 2026 by Rich Marin

As a continuation of my physical trauma of last week, I will start by declaring that after a week of my new thumb reality, I have seen some minor improvement in the strength of my left thumb, but it ain’t back to anywhere near 100%. I am using a very simple test every day to track the situation and since I do not have any strength calipers, I am using my ability to touch each…

Fiction/Humor Memoir Retirement

Digging the Pitt

By Rich Marin | April 3, 2026 by Rich Marin

For a while now I have been noticing the new emergency room series called The Pitt (a play on Pittsburgh, the high intensity and grit, and the fact that ER’s are on the lower level of hospitals) on my Hulu feed. Then my trainer, who is a grad student in kinesiology working towards his Physical Therapy certification, told me I had to watch it, so I did. I loved it. It was incredibly realistic, perhaps…

Fiction/Humor Retirement

To Cruise or Not to Cruise: That is the Question

By Rich Marin | March 24, 2026March 23, 2026 by Rich Marin

To cruise, or not to cruise, that is the question. Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous travel, or to take arms against a sea (or river) of troubles, and by opposing end them? To dine: to sleep; no more (from seasickness); and by a nap to say we end a long shore excursion day. The heartache and the thousand natural shocks that flesh is heir to, ’tis…

Memoir Retirement

Chateaux on the Creek

By Rich Marin | March 10, 2026 by Rich Marin

Today we are heading home to sunny San Diego and our little Buddy. We wrapped up our visit with Frank & Barbara in Stuart by visiting the Elliot Museum, which is a well-appointed vintage car and motorcycle museum. We went to look at Frank’s old 1931 Model A replica, which is exactly like the car he purchased in blue when he was 11 years old and has fastidiously maintained ever since. Not many of us…

Memoir Retirement

The Extremes of Florida

By Rich Marin | March 8, 2026 by Rich Marin

It’s not unusual for me to get into a disagreement with somebody on the subject of affluence. I recall in college during freshman year having a debate with my friend Debbie about the definition of affluence. Debbie was one of 10 children in a family headed by an Air Force Chief Master Sergeant, and as we sat there as freshman at an elite Ivy League school, I argued that she came from an affluent family.…

Memoir Retirement

Of Moths and Flames

By Rich Marin | March 5, 2026 by Rich Marin

I have a classic “moth to the flame” personality. Being irresistibly drawn to something — or someone — that is ultimately dangerous or destructive seems to be in my DNA. The attraction is so powerful that I cannot help myself, even when the outcome is potentially or predictably bad. The armchair shrinks in the audience will say that this implies self-destructive tendencies that forces me to operate through compulsion more than it’s about trickery by…

Memoir Retirement

Sometimes I Wish I Didn’t

By Rich Marin | February 27, 2026February 25, 2026 by Rich Marin

During the day, I sometimes hear phrases that catch my attention. That happened yesterday while watching a special about the life and times of Linda Ronstadt. I don’t even remember the context, but when she said in an interview, “sometimes I wish I didn’t”, it stuck with me. Linda got Parkinson’s somewhere along the way and it affected her ability to sing. She last performed on stage in 2009, when she was 63. She was…

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Category: Retirement

Hands Down

Growing Pains

Stiff Arming Time

Thumbing My Nose At Aging

Digging the Pitt

To Cruise or Not to Cruise: That is the Question

Chateaux on the Creek

The Extremes of Florida

Of Moths and Flames

Sometimes I Wish I Didn’t