Monday Morning Musings

Posted on December 29, 2014 under Monday Morning Musings with 2 comments

Split Crow – Boxing Day 2014

Photo courtesy of Peter MacDonald

The picture above was taken on Boxing Day at the Split Crow. My daughter, Betsy and her friends have a gig there every Friday from 5-8. The music is eclectic and the musicians are terrific. Go check it out some Friday. I was hauled up on the stage kicking and screaming ( I’m pretty shy, as you know ! ). I did a few tunes with this group and had the pleasure of doing two numbers with Betsy and Peter. We left the pub mid evening and drove to Amherst for an overnighter before heading out on the road.

I love the people of Maine but man, is the landscape bleak, especially at this time of the year. Mind you, in fairness, Nova Scotia doesn’t look much different if you stay on the Trans Canada. We had an absolutely perfect day for travel for December 27^th. It was sunny and the only reason we didn’t know it was summer was that the grass wasn’t green. We put the hammer down and knocked off 1100 km. We plan to be in Nashville later today. We saw one promotional sign that caught our eye just after the border in Calais. You get a free lobster at this auto glass place if you get your windshield repaired. I almost went looking for the nearest flatbed truck that I could follow for a few miles in hopes that an errant rock might hit us.

I have a couple of stories coming up. The first one is a post Christmas tale called “Some Assembly Required.” Every single one of you could have written this story. I have been asked many times how Betty has survived living with me for 32 years. It’s quite simple. We learned early on that there were two tasks that a married couple should never tackle together: dry walling/crack filling and assembling Christmas toys.

The other story is about a recent trip to the dermatologist in Halifax. You would hardly think that this is story material but virtually everything we do is “story worthy.” Stay tuned for “Scott Free.”

I have one other story that I have been considering publishing but it’s very uncharacteristic in that the subject is quite serious. It’s called “The Length of Days” and discusses the topic of how much time each of us are given,  in this thing we call life. The thought occurred to me when I was attending the committal ceremony for a relative of Betty’s this fall. Her great aunt was 97 and lived a full life. I happened to notice the grave beside her. It was that of a 5 year old girl who died in the year that Neil Armstrong stepped on the moon. How is it, that one person got an additional 92 years of living? Whatever we’re given, we have to make the best of it.

A few weeks ago, I notified my clients and informed them that I was retiring from the financial planning  business on June 30^th. of 2015. This does not mean that I am going to retire from the work world. Some people retire well while others struggle mightily. I personally feel that staying active and engaged is the key to the “golden years.”  I hope to spend more time writing. At least that’s the plan. I really still quite enjoy helping people planning their retirements but there is a time for all of us to walk away and for me, it’s best to do it before I get thrown out by my partners.

Hope you have a great week and a Happy New Year.

I really appreciate your support.

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