Memoir Retirement

On Mechanization

On Mechanization On another wet day on the hillside, I am pondering the mechanization of my gardening efforts. I will start with a simple commentary on manual versus automated work. It is true that I can get a strong Mexican laborer’s back for the day for $160. That’s $20/hr plus lunch and transportation for eight hours of work. Let’s keep this simple and talk about moving mulch or stone (as in smaller rocks and pebbles)…

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Business Advice Retirement

Feelin’ Prickly

Feelin’ Prickly No, I am not in a bad mood and I am not annoyed with someone or something…at least not at the moment. It’s just that when I have stuff to do, I have such performance anxiety as a natural part of who I am that I get that prickly feeling in my backside. I imagine that the feeling itself is somewhat primordial and comes out of the cerebral cortex rather than the cerebellum.…

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Memoir Retirement

Handy Rich

Handy Rich Ever since we came back from our summer cross-country trip, Handy Brad and I have modified our arrangement. I think this was a combination of Brad getting some other work in his neighborhood for an older woman (i.e. someone who was not so penny-pinching as some of his other retiree neighbors) and me running low on new projects. Now, if I need Handy Brad for something, I call him and we agree on…

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Memoir Retirement

New York, New York

New York, Nëw York Tonight we flew into JFK on JetBlue from San Diego. Any way you slice it, that is a full day travel affair. We’ve been spending a lot of time thinking about reengaging with air travel and how we feel about it. While Kim hears all my thoughts on the topic, I don’t want to assume that her thoughts on the subject are the same as mine. I think we all have…

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Memoir Retirement

Taming the Hillside

Taming the Hillside This week I am coming to the end of a progression of man versus nature. I don’t like to think that I have triumphed over nature because that would be a foolish perspective. Nature always wins in the end. It would also be foolish because this effort is all about finding ways to embrace nature and revel in it. But I cannot completely avoid feeling like I have wrestled some aspects of…

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Fiction/Humor Retirement

Juggling

Juggling Being a Baby Boomer, I generally have a confusion (not so much a barrier as true confusion) over gender fluidity. I identify as him/he if I must declare, but I have yet to include that on any proper titling or letterhead the way it is becoming standard for people in the groove of modernity. My youngest son is producing a short play that is entirely about a very gender fluid situation with a gender-bimodal…

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Memoir Retirement

It’s Raining, It’s Pouring

It’s Raining, It’s Pouring Here we are in the middle of August and I’m putting on extra clothes for warmth. That’s right, its turned suddenly downright chilly on the hilltop at 62 degrees. It will be in the 90’s again next week, so I’m just going to enjoy it. Naturally, this was the day I planned for a team of laborers under the direction of Handy Brad to lay out the DG paths and spread…

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Memoir Retirement

Made in the Shade

Made in the Shade I am half Slovak and half Italian in origin. Since I was raised by my mother and like to think that I am following more in her footsteps than those of my father, I always feel more Slovak than Italian. That said, I did live in Rome, Italy for three years of high school, a very formative period in anyone’s life and I do more-or-less speak Italian. I am very comfortable…

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