Tag Archives: retirement

Lost Wages, Quarropas

Almost Aimless August Days

In the Mojave Desert, summer really launches in maybe mid-May. Temperatures start building into what will be detested as summer. Try as outdoor Las Vegas leisure attractions do, there’s little anticipation of sun, fun, and frolic.

Yes, Southern Nevada resorts lure with dayclubs, DJs, and cabanas. However, the pleasure of sweltering on shaded concrete eludes my notion of enjoyment.

September after Labor Day is, as the French have labeled it, “reentry.” The speed of life acerates, living therefore resumes meaning.

August, though? Its 31 days are a continuous loll. What more is there to do in August than laze? Continue reading Almost Aimless August Days →

Lost Wages, Struwwelpeter for Adults

In a Different Desert at 65

Now into being retired for several months, I did a few things instinctively experts suggest. First among them, I didn’t splurge.

Free of punching any timeclock, I didn’t travel. As much as I wanted to beat as many July and August weekends of Mojave Desert summer heat and hit the Coast – particularly Hermosa Beach and Oceanside – I deferred. Prudence demanded I first evaluate my new financial circumstances.

If I got deeper in the hole at this stage of life, escaping would be difficult without regular income through regular hours. I have no urge to return to the daily grind. Continue reading In a Different Desert at 65 →

Quarropas

Arc of the Ball

Give or take a few years, a wave of contemporaries will join me sloshing into retirement. Some are younger and have ever-shorter distances to go. Others, having been there for a while, welcomed me at the finish line. A few leaned into the same tape as I did.

I think we share this mutual view: we don’t believe we’ve made it; we’re grateful to have “finished” the race. As I must’ve written elsewhere, now I know why my parents were so happy when work stopped scheduling their lives. Continue reading Arc of the Ball →