Wednesday, November 16, 2005

Morning folks. This idea of bringing up posts from the past has turned out to be a good one, for a number of reasons. It makes me realize what a great bank of memories I have to draw on to help me over the little bumps in the road, that we all encounter. Finding that some of you guys enjoy them is just an extra bonus. I've said it before, but it bears repeating, you're a great bunch of folks. Although I'm off the road I'm still truckin', the only difference is instead of a gear-stick, I'm using a keyboard.

This next little post I put up on Jan 23. It's interesting how I felt back then and how well I'm doing now. But there is a lesson there.

RETIREMENT

Over the years I've followed hundreds of thousands of vehicles down the road and seen my share of bumper stickers. They ran the gamut from funny to ignorant. One that sticks out in my mind now said, "Retirement ain't for sissies". Other than having a little chuckle, I paid it no mind. Bad move, because now that I'm here I'm starting to see the wisdom in that statement. Other than the normal aches and pains that come with getting older, this stage of life is, like the Bush monkey says, hard work. To say that I was ill-prepared is laughably under-stated.

The day I stepped out of the truck for the last time, I looked around and thought, now what? For the first time in oh so many years I did'nt have a long way to go and not enough time to get there. Now I had nowhere to go and nothing but time. That's when I realized that I had not prepared for this. Not having ever been a self-important person, at the same time I could'nt help but notice that life, as most people know it, was getting along quite nicely without me. Talk about a fish out of water! In a way I'm still flopping around. This computer helps a lot, but it's just a crutch to support the lameness I imposed on myself by not preparing. So, guys(and gals), please start thinking about the day you step down. This should be a wonderful stage in a person's life, but like everything else, you'll only get out what you put in. I'm not sure if it's ever too early to start thinking about it.

While it might seem I've painted a rather bleak picture, it is only that one aspect. The rest of my life is plumb fine. Thankfully I have a great family, who kick my butt when needed, like when I get a little cranky. A little cranky?, hell, a bear with a sore twat gets a little cranky. Even though I've been divorced many years I get along great with my ex, so can't blame her. Nope, I'm the one that dropped the ball by not preparing.

On a lighter note, some of you may have heard that sex after sixty is like shooting pool with a rope. Not true! All it means is you have to line your shot up better or you'll never get your balls in the hole. Oh, lighten up, you've told worse.

Trucker Bob blogged at 4:22 AM

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