I think the silver lining of a cancer diagnosis is facing
the reality of your mortality. We are
all going to die eventually. The only
question is when and how.
In the meantime, I am trying to live a full and enriching
life that has both meaning and purpose.
There is still a lot left I want to do! The countdown to retirement is
also the liftoff to fulfilling my retirement dreams. Yoko and I have been talking about what we
want to do during our twilight years together.
Here is what we’ve (I’ve) come up with, so far.
First, Yoko and I are not going to wait to travel. We both
want to see the world. Why not do it
while we are both in good health?
Earlier this year Yoko returned to Japan to visit her sister in Tokyo. She has just one sister and she wants to spend
more time with her. We went to Europe in
June, Lake Tahoe in August, and we are planning a trip to Moosehead Lake in
Maine to see the fall colors. We’re taking a cruise to the Bahamas in November
and planning another trip to Japan with our daughter and son-in-law at year’s
end.
There is a 115 day cruise leaving The Port of Miami in
January and returning in April of 2016. I would love to be on that ship when it
departs! This round the world cruise
visits 43 countries, traveling through the Panama Canal to the Pacific, then
onto Southeast Asia, India, the Middle East, thorough the Suez Canal,
transiting the Mediterranean and then back across the Atlantic. All I need is the time, which I don’t have
right now, to make the trip. It’s on my bucket list.
What I really want is enough time to just do the things I
like to do. For example, right now I am
re-reading (and taking notes) on the 900 page biography of Alexander Hamilton
by Ron Chernow. Hamilton, one of this country’s founding fathers, died in a
duel with Aaron Burr when he was just 46 years old. What a life this man led and how much he made
of his time! When I first read Hamilton’s incredible story, I was so inspired I
thought it could be a movie. I am working on writing a screenplay that I hope
to have time to pitch someday.
I’ve been reading a Pulitzer Prize winning novel called “The
Goldfinch” by Donna Taratt. I would love
to write a fictional novel that wins such widespread acclaim! Of course, you have to write a novel to win a
Pulitzer. It’s just a matter of time.
In my first year of retirement, after taking that round the
world cruise, I’d like to buy and RV and travel the continental United States.
There are many places to see and I’d like enough time to see it all. I thought maybe we could travel during the
day, with Yoko navigating from one interesting place to the next as we
crisscross the country. In the evenings
and in between I would work on my novel and screenplay.
In year two of retirement I want to move to Cremona, Italy, learn
to speak Italian, and apprentice with a violin craftsman. I heard about this
place on “60 Minutes” and now I want to go.
Cremona is the birthplace of Antonio Stradivari, who was born in 1644.
His shop in Cremona is where he perfected his craft until his death in
1737 at the age of 93! I love classical
music and opera, but I am not right-brained enough to be blessed with musical
talent. That doesn’t mean I can’t learn a craft like making violins. Cremona is about 47 miles South of Milano,
close enough to see La Boheme at the La Scala Opera House. Sold!
After that I am
not sure what we will do in our retirement years. I know for sure that I don’t
want to golf every day nor do I want to just sit around watching daytime TV. Yoko and I both agree that we’d want to do
things that makes life enjoyable and happy for others, be it family, friends,
or strangers. They say “no good deed
goes unpunished”, but Yoko and I both believe that no good deed goes without
reward. Why not do good deeds while waiting on our heavenly reward? Our days
are numbered. It’s only a matter of
time.
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