Moving in to independent or assisted living.

[DFW]

19. For me, not working would be my downfall

I have my hobbies, there's no lack of them. I am fascinated by minerals, have an extensive collection of them (California Peggy can tell you about that, she has been here). I also have an array of musical instruments in the house, including some of the legendary 12 string guitars built by Božo Podunavac to my specifications. I also wrote a novel, never found the time to finish my second one, hope to some day. And I like to travel. Getting my wife to find the time to come with me is the trick, there. We always go to Cape Cod in the summer, but it has been a while since we did something really new (for us). There was Alaska in 2015, plus our 40th wedding anniversary trip to Hawai'i this past April, but other than that, it was always the usual favorite haunts, like Barcelona or Berlin. Once a year, we go to Charleston, SC for New Year's, and then occasional stops in New York, Dallas or Washington.

If I were to retire, I don't know WHAT I'd do. Probably spend more time in Atlanta making music with the Freedom Toast, instead of directing it from afar. I miss the studio and the live interaction with my fellow musicians. But my wife knows no one in Atlanta and doesn't play any musical instruments, so she wouldn't come.

Besides, when I work, if you overlook the frequent travel snafus, I get to do my job in Paris, Brussels, Utrecht, München, Berlin, Hamburg, Barcelona, Madrid, Geneva, Zürich, København, Basel. etc etc. My careful structuring of my job so I would have ironclad job security has, over the years, painted me into a corner. With all the perks I get (good pay, all the vacation I want), I made sure they couldn't replace me. Well, now I'M the one that wants to replace me, but still can't find someone who can do it. At SOME point, the day will come when I just can't do it any more--as likely as not due to my having dropped dead on the job. If it happens, then it happens. Mother Nature had scheduled me to drop dead on April 29th, 2004 anyway. I lucked out, and missed the appointment. "Appointment in Samarra" was not THAT night (fooled you, Mother Nature!) and the-lady-who-was-death did indeed miss me. She'll catch up to me sooner or later, but I'm not dropping her any hints to speed up our next appointment.