RETIREMENT: A MARATHON RUN?

A series of essays....

DAN'S OFFICE ALL DECKED-OUT FOR THE BIG DAY!

....as seen through my eyes!

By: Jacqueline E. Hughes

Retirement officially began on June 1, 2018, for Dan. The choice of withdrawing or leaving from his chosen occupation at the age of sixty-seven was his and his alone. The company he worked for would have gladly employed him for as long as Dan desired to work. They respected him as a person and thoroughly appreciated his common sense  approach to any job at hand coupled by his acquired expertise after a lengthy, successful career in the Construction business.

I WONDER IF THE AUTHOR WAS REFERRING
TO BATTLING THE
I-4 TRAFFIC EVERY MORNING?

Not many can say they were able to control their own destiny. Then again, I have to ask, do we really own control or do circumstances in our lives guide us around each twist and turn and we’re merely passengers locked into this carnival ride that’s managed by the person (computer) down below? I’d like to think it’s a bit of both; a perfect blend of free will and fate!

As I sit here in the semi-darkness of the early morning hours, snug in my library chair, i-Pad screen glowing brightly, it’s difficult for me to think that this particular pleasure is offered to me on borrowed time. Certainly the contents of this room are ours: the piano we’ve moved from home to home, the antique oak, claw-foot table separating our two comfy recliners, and the grand collection of books lined-up on shelves like soldiers awaiting their orders to whisk us away to places near and far...for our sanity and immeasurable delight!

I WILL MISS THIS MORNING VIEW

It’s the shell....the structure itself....that we built as our home twenty years ago that I speak about. By our own admission and free will, we relinquish this house to others to live, play, create memories, and love in from this day forward. Well, after signatures are signed on the dotted line in August, anyway! Our house has been sold! Unfortunately, this room I write in and love so much is a part of this sale and, it will be missed. I can only hope that the new owners fill the waiting empty shelves with their own magnificent adventures!

I digress a bit from my original thoughts about Dan’s retirement plan. Three years ago, almost to the day, we purchased our ‘little yellow cottage’ and this set the wheels of retirement into motion for us. 

We always believed in owning a ‘working retirement’ and have never bought into the ‘rocking chair with knitting in hand’ syndrome. How could we when there’s so much life out there to live! So, as the beginning of June loomed before us, we hit the ground running like a pair of soldiers landing by parachute on the battlefield and moving off as quickly as possible the moment our feet touched the ground. Working with the energy and enthusiasm of youth but with the occasional aches and pains of mature (oldish?) adults, we went to work....

Interview at least three realtor teams and, based upon the information gleaned, choose which team will work the hardest to sell our home. Check. Declutter, repair, and prepare the house for its debut exposure to none other than the ENTIRE WORLD, in person and on the Internet! Check. From the first Open House on, be prepared to live in a pared-down version of your normal lifestyle while reducing your life to its most simple and cleanliest form. Check. Be prepared to put up with a full range of emotions, from incredible lows to anticipatory highs and back down again. Can’t completely or sincerely Check that line item as being accomplished.

In any case, we have been blessed by the realtor gods. Coupled by the fact that we have loved and taken great care to maintain and improve upon our home over the years,
someone else has fallen in love and, from what we hear, would like to call it their home. 

NHIEU AND DAN AT THE HOLLYWOOD SALON

We survived their home inspection last Friday and spent the ‘away time’ wisely by getting hair cuts and a pedicure. We spent some tearful moments saying our good-byes to the friends we’d acquired in Nhieu Dao, our hairdresser who, for the past nine years, has had to learn so much about dealing with blonds in addition to his formal knowledge of exotic, dark-haired Vietnamese clients. And, Donna Tran, with whom I have entrusted my sad, often dry, and mostly tired feet to for over sixteen years when we first met at the Bonjour Salon in Winter Park just before our oldest daughter’s wedding.

MY FRIEND, DONNA, HAS TAUGHT
ME SO MUCH ABOUT VIETNAM, HER HOME.

This week we are packing-up for another drive up to Michigan, a jam-packed trailer in tow. This weekend we anticipate seeing high school friends (Class of ‘68), with less familiar faces now, at our Class Reunion in Three Rivers, Michigan! I won’t write how many years since graduation. You’re welcome to do the math and gulp along with me. I have to wonder what their perception of Dan and me will be. Does it even matter as long as we are all alive, healthy, and living our lives the best that we can?

LIEN AND DAN

LIEN (PRONOUNCED LYNN) HAS SHARED
SO MUCH AND GIVEN EVEN MORE. SO MANY
STORIES TO CHERISH AND WRITE ABOUT!

Then we fly home to Orlando to do the serious packing or ‘gutting of the house’ and labeling the contents in Sharpie black by virtue of its contents and where it should be placed in the little yellow cottage...or, rented storage unit.

Within the past seven weeks since my husband’s official retirement it’s been a virtual whirlwind of activity and emotions. He (we) hasn’t had time for anything close to resembling slowing down the pace of life, let alone being able to come up for a breath of fresh air every now and again. 

Some sage advice offered by this ‘Beautiful Grandma’ to all of the young people who, even with the world at their fingertips via smartphones and the Internet, still proclaim their utter boredom with life. I say to put on your running shoes and prepare to buckle-up for the fast-paced life ahead of you. Do your warm-ups, jockey for the best position while in the neutral zone, and get ready for the most competitive time of your life imaginable....retirement!

Oh, and did I happen to mention that you must be hungry for books and become an avid reader in order to be able to gobble-up as much knowledge as possible in your lifetime?

And, when you decide it’s time to face retirement, don’t be fooled by the allure of limiting your life to long walks on the beach, eating what you want, or sitting in a comfortable rocking chair all day long. Complete the book you began writing years ago, volunteer to help others even more now that you are not limited by employment or time constraints, and get involved in local politics by joining organizations that have everyone’s best interests and personal desires for a better life for all in mind. (Please promise that you will go out and vote this November!)

Cast out the misconception of allowing downtime dictate the rhythm of your life. Maybe you don’t have to continue a marathon pace after that Friday luncheon organized in your honor as Dan has, but knowing that you now have the time to ease into that personal change you’ve been looking forward to is an amazing feeling. Life itself is an intricate and beautiful thing; retirement helps you recognize the many facets of life you may have been missing out on all of these years.

So, put on your running shoes, boys and girls, because we all have a lot more than 26.2 miles left in us after we retire!!

Copyright © 2018 by Jacqueline E. Hughes

All rights reserved

DISTRACTIONS: LITTLE STORIES THAT SAVE ONE'S SANITY

A series of essays.....

NAVIGATING THE FRENCH ALPS....
A VIEW GUARANTEED TO TAKE YOUR BREATH AWAY!
LE TOUR DE FRANCE, 2018

.....as seen through my eyes!

By: Jacqueline E. Hughes

Writing and photography have helped me get through many potential and actual perils in my lifetime. To see and feel a world that others may not be able to has taken me to great heights of understanding about myself and, unfortunately, introduced me to some extreme lows when considering this ever changing world we live in today. Like the Sword of Damocles, danger resides over us in the form of uncertainty, fear, and loss of hope. To protect our sanity, it is wise to incorporate diversions or distractions that help guide us through the rough times.

From the beginning of time, painters, writers, sculptors, and artists of all varieties and backgrounds have attempted to escape the tension that bleeds from the open wounds of the heart by concentrating on their ability to.....create. The power of observation becomes a popular distraction that affords men and women the opportunity to visualize ‘fresh ideas’ and turn them into powerful examples of timeless beauty consisting of vivid colors, molded clay, cool granite, and a thousand words of wisdom and creative distractions set into poetic motion.

Many of us are feeling the intense grip that today’s political climate has on us. In order to counterbalance the heaviness of this burden, it has become more and more important to believe in the positive ideals represented by the people and values we love and hold dear to us. Making the time to focus on the more obscure, smaller things that surround us, as well, is all about holding on to our identity (sanity) and allowing our imagination to run wild and free. Our power of observation offers us a distraction from the threats of reality we tend to wallow in; an escape mechanism that enables us to resist and persist by rejoicing in the simple art of daydreaming....

I offer you a few 'little stories' I've written in the last several days. Based upon my personal activities, they are designed to capture my daydreams, urge the creative juices to flow freely, and save my sanity!

CAPTURING THE SPIRIT
OF 'LE TOUR'

VIEW DU JOUR

The hand-held camera is gripped tightly by the Frenchman seated behind his leather-clad motorcycle driver who is gingerly navigating the extremely narrow road. The camera is positioned low enough to capture the whirling spokes of each bicycle tire blazing past him; each smooth and muscular, pumping leg of the men powering the bikes from one valley up to the mountain summit and down again into the next valley waiting far below. A virtual train of colorful machines and raw, physical power flashes on the television screen in front of me.

The surrealistic ‘view du jour’ is orchestrated by this particular cameraman with his own sense of artistic flair, daring to capture a unique view of his own French landscape. This rhythmical shot is nothing short of mesmerizing. 

Slowly, he pans up and repositions his camera to shoulder height, mocking physics by challenging the properties of gravity and inertia, simultaneously. What I see now takes my breath away! As if fixated upon every shadow and detail of Mont Sainte-Victoire (located in the South of France) forming in the fertile mind of Paul Cézanne, I witness the finished product captured high-up in the French Alps at precisely this moment in time by a Frenchman and his camera. Merci!

NICE TO SEE THAT EVEN TOILET TISSUE
CAN BE IMPROVED UPON!

TOILET TISSUE

It’s just toilet paper after all! It’s a product we, certainly, take for granted, often purchase in bulk, and stuff in a cabinet or neatly stack on the highest shelf in the pantry; out of sight, out of mind until absolutely required. Often, we miscalculate the timing of its necessity and find ourselves in full-fledged panic mode while dashing about and feeding another puffy roll on the spring-loaded rod, before securely clicking it into place.

It’s precisely because of the timeless war we’ve waged with our spouses throughout the years as to whether each sheet is fed on top of or behind the roll of toilet tissue that I, innocently, made a very interesting discovery one afternoon. 

Peeling off the one dimensional plastic skin of the cuddly, brown bear smiling up at me, I decided it was time to replenish each bathroom with several rolls of toilet tissue. Releasing each roll from its second plastic wrapper and removing the spring rod prior to piercing it into the center of the cardboard roll, I was distracted by something I’d never seen before.

Gone was the straight, austere edge I’d come to know for so many years! The edge of the first sheet that fed over the top of the roll reminded me of the soft, scalloped trim of a Victorian dress sleeve; the delicate edge of a hand-embroidered pillow case. This small, almost unnoticeable change delighted my sense of artistic balance as it softly laid atop the other sheets and, when pulled away from them, was released with much more efficiency than its straight edged counterpart. 

Smiling, I tucked a few rolls of ‘prettiness’ into the empty basket and moved on to the next bathroom realizing that sometimes it takes such a small change to happen in order to make a world of difference.

GETTING READY FOR AN EVENING DUET
 WITH THE 'BIG BOYS'

A FREQUENCY OUR FROGS CAN IDENTIFY WITH

Within the past several months we’ve noticed an interesting phenomenon that we’d never picked-up on before. Sitting out on our lanai at sunset always offers a myriad of visual and audio delights, mostly attributed to nature but, with a few being, strictly, man-made. The amazing part is that our minds and bodies have become attuned to these various activities and we have come to know when to expect them to happen.....almost down to the precise moment!

Even more amazing is when a man-made object directly interacts with nature in such a way that we’ve grown used to the joy it fills us with each time it happens! The distraction it provides helps us to understand more about the interconnected, emotional environment we live in.

Among the unique beauty of our Floridian sunsets that fill the senses with indescribable color, deep shadows, and spectacular highlights, we witness the pouring rain that sifts through the tiny, mesh holes of the screen enclosure creating a soft and surreal backyard world. We can predict the moment when the harmony of the crickets and the high-pitched droning of the cicadas begins. When the colors of the sunset blend into the semi-darkness of dusk, our frogs appear and begin walking the high frame of the pool enclosure like expert tight-rope performers. And, while all of this is happening around us, the large, metal birds aloft in the evening sky come from all over the world to land at OIA (Orlando International Airport) only a few miles away.

Our ambitious frogs spend the day sheltering from the sun by resting in the nook and crannies afforded by the metal bracing. As the planes approach at dusk (one of the busiest times at OIA), the frogs appear and leap along the damp, aluminum rails with gusto! The frequency of the sound waves produced by the plane’s engines overhead are of a distinctive quality of sound that matches the specific vibration of our friendly frogs. Their instinctive reaction to each plane is a short litany of croaks as if to say, “Go away, you really do bother me.”

Even if we become distracted by the television after coming inside for the night, our predictable amphibians lament their guttural songs before we realize that yet another plane will soon be touching down on the tarmac just down the road. I’m still not certain if they are friends or foe of one another but, I do know one thing....they will be missed when we, finally, pack-up and leave them behind in the Orlando twilight.

REFLECTIONS OF TIME AND SPACE
AFTER MY MORNING READ...

I AM TOTALLY INFATUATED
WITH THIS PICTURE!!!

Copyright © 2018 by Jacqueline E. Hughes

All rights reserved

THE INTEGRITY OF DEMOCRACY: BLESSED OR CURSED?

 A series of essays.....

THE PERSISTENCE OF MEMORY
BY SALVADOR DALI

Courtesy of: Artsy

.....as seen through my eyes!

By: Jacqueline E. Hughes

The world has officially turned topsy-turvy in my lifetime and what I once considered to be an ordered life has turned into a state of utter disorder and confusion; it has turned upside down and infused with a bitter anger that leaves a sharp, pungent taste on the palate of our existence.

By virtue of applied math and science, the average American citizen could or should be on the verge of either a mental breakdown, experiencing heart disease, stomach ulcers, or, at the very least, mired (become stuck in swamp mud?) in a state of total confusion!

Others opt to exist within a ‘state of oblivious bliss’ and completely ignore the chaos that describes the state of our nation, which may include the fate of hundreds of children caught-up in the right wing politics of the Family Separation Policy issued by the Trump administration. Innocent children who have been separated from their parents at our border are being placed at risk and used as pawns to create anxiety and fear in the hope of deterring future immigrants from crossing our borders to seek refuge from the unfiltered chaos they leave behind in their own country. 

Through her tears, Digna, an immigrant mother from El Salvador, who had her young son and daughter taken away from her over a month ago, asked, “Why was it so easy for them to take my children away from me and so difficult to have them returned?” My heart aches for her.  

Until a California judge decreed that these vulnerable families needed to be reunited, immediately, these children had slipped through the political cracks with no hope of ever being cared about or heard from again; lost between heartless leadership and a policy that should be totally disconcerting for all of us who care about the health and well-being of one another. 

If ignorance is indeed a form of bliss, then those of us who refuse to react to this hatred or even acknowledge that this hatred exists among us, will suffer a rude awakening in the near future. While this administration chips away at every conceivable program designed to enhance and protect people and the land we hold so dear, it is unfathomable to think that there are those who would not react to this form of governmental terror that exists in Washington D.C. today! 

We’ve already seen a popular response via organized, massive marches and instant protests where the voices of the people can be heard loud and clear, day and night. Organizations have been instantly established, such as INDIVISIBLE, whose mission is to cultivate and lift up a grassroots movement of local groups to defeat the Trump agenda.

Internal terror attacks are happening around us all of the time. The very people we’ve chosen to represent us in Washington have elected to place their personal needs of Money, Power, and Politics before the needs and desires of the people who elected them. 

When was the last time the word ‘ISIS’ rolled off your tongue? Instead, our fear concentrates around mass shootings initiated by fellow citizens armed with guns, the stronghold of foreign political influences that have wrapped their emboldened fingers around the neck of democracy itself, and the lack of leadership by a narcissistic and heartless president whose agenda seems to be working on weakening or abolishing our democratic government and ideals.

It should concern us that there is what we call this president’s ‘small base of supporters’ who, unflinchingly, uphold every move he makes....even to the point of harming themselves and their families in the process. I am speaking about the loss of affordable health care, shared values, and of monetary growth and security due to the lack of jobs based on the destruction of healthy trade relationships with friendly foreign nations. Not only does his ‘base’ support his constant flow of manipulative lies, they seem to bask in them to the extent that the lies become the truths they are searching for under the influence of this shallow, harmful man.

If you have become familiar with the many terms that have surfaced due to the political unrest and divisiveness of our country within the past several years, you will recognize the phrases ‘Nuclear Options’ and ‘Collusion,’ as well as the two men who own them: Kentucky Senator, Mitch McConnell and Vladimir Putin, President of Russia, respectively. I’m uncertain as to which man should frighten us more; the manipulator from within our government or the powerful foreign manipulator outside of it!

We now live in a world where the sky is green, the grass is blue and just about ‘anything goes!’ Suddenly, the rules and ideals that reflected an order of normalcy have been thrown out the window and are melting away like the clocks in Salvador Dali’s painting, The Persistence of Memory. 

Will we choose to throw the Integrity of our Democracy out with the dirty bath water or, if time remains on our side, decide to experience a profound sense of vigor and change growing within us as a nation that cares enough to believe in a new sense of hope for all people? It’s not too late to move out of ‘Topsy-turvyland’ (Trumpnation). We just have to want to badly enough.

If we do not work together to make positive change happen...time, the American Dream, and the Integrity of our Democracy could be melting away, forever!

            

Copyright © 2018 by Jacqueline E. Hughes

All rights reserved

HUMANITY WITH A GENEROUS DOSE OF CIVILITY, PLEASE!

 A series of essays....

LYCHEE FRUIT, AN UNEXPECTED GIFT FROM A GOOD FRIEND AND
MY FIRST TASTE OF THIS UNUSUAL AND VERY BEAUTIFUL FRUIT
GROWN IN HER VIETNAMESE, BACKYARD GARDEN
 

.....as seen through my eyes!

By: Jacqueline E. Hughes

The current world population is 7.6 billion as of July 2018 according to the most recent United Nations estimates elaborated by Worldometers:

Current World Population

7,633,330,615

TODAY

Births today

132,205

Deaths today

54,758

Population Growth today

77,447

THIS YEAR

Births this year

70,725,785

Deaths this year

29,295,142

The world population is expected to reach 8.6 billion by 2030.

I captured this rolling meter at a specific moment in time: 8:18:27, Tuesday morning, July 3, 2018. Later, I will post the active meter once again and give you the current stats,  captured in real time, as a point of comparison. 

KINDNESS AMONG OUR YOUTH;
SHARING LOVE AND RESPONSIBILITY!

HUMANITY

Humans considered as a group are referred to as the human race: Living, breathing, walking figures of intelligence and members of the primate genus Homo, species Homo sapiens, distinguished from other apes by a large brain and the capacity for speech. Humans have developed far beyond the use of sign language and due to our exceptional communication skills have advanced in the fields of writing, progressive thought, philosophy, Renaissance (revival of intellectual or artistic achievement and enthusiasm), invention and mass production during the Industrial Revolution, Space Frontier (from its beginnings in the 1940’s to manned flights in 1961 and beyond), and lastly....Technology, the branch of knowledge dealing with engineering and applied sciences. 

We humans certainly did not allow the grass to grow too tall beneath our feet while discovering our own valuable capabilities throughout the years! As more and more and more of us continue to populate Earth, we tend to forget that our planet, our number one life support system, never changes in size or quantity of natural elements that serve to maintain our well-being and future on the Big Blue Planet. Many of us take it for granted that the forests, water supply, soil to grow crops, sunlight and rain, the basics of existence, will always be there and ours no matter what we do or how many of us we have sharing these basic necessities together.

Recalling Humanities 101 in college, freshman year, our young, hormonally driven selves studied the classics, the languages and literature of Ancient Greece and Rome. We familiarized ourselves with those branches of knowledge such as philosophy, literature, and art that are concerned with human thought and culture. Being a required course, Humanities 101, you might say, gave us a chance to reevaluate our own lives in such a way that we were better able to choose which path our journey might take us in this world. Also, we socialized and, hopefully, put into practice the quality of being humane and benevolent that had been taught to us by our parents and closest mentors within the first eighteen years of life.

MY SISTER-IN-LAW, SUSIE,
VOLUNTEERING CLEAN-UP DUTIES!

CIVILITY

If you still believe that having your date open the car door or politely pull-out a chair for you to be conveniently seated at the table are very good things...than courtesy and politeness are NOT dead after all! There is a distinction between civility and chivalry. The quality of being humane (civil) extends to demonstrating compassion or benevolence within all forms of our daily life and includes all living beings, as well. As humans, we should be characterized by the tenderness, compassion, and sympathy we have for other beings. This  includes regulations ensuring the humane treatment of animals, whether they be our food source, faithful companions, or those animals that help to balance the delicate ecosystem we humans thrive in.

The French express their civility by the simple act of saying 'bonjour' to everyone they meet along their day’s journey. This small, courteous action or expression displays their affirmation of politeness towards their fellow man and allows everyone they meet to feel special and important within that moment in time. To be civil on a small scale, it may be the direct interaction between two individuals. On a grander and more comprehensive level, what makes a society civil can be our attitudes towards all other members of society, “Especially those with whom we have no direct interactions or much in the way of common interests, as well as interactions between individuals and groups, organizations, institutions, and all levels of government and business, as well,” as written in the paper, What is a Civil Society, by Jack Krupansky.

GRANDCHILDREN BEING KIND
AND HELPING ONE ANOTHER LEARN

We must ask if we consider ourselves civil human beings within the true perimeters of the meaning of civility itself. Do we show and feel compassion for others on a daily basis? If we can truthfully answer yes, than holding a door open for someone else, encouraging thoughtfulness, successfully connecting with others, and incorporating mutual respect, good manners, and being polite to all of our fellow life travelers are the gifts we should generously bestow upon the billions of people we share this planet called Earth with each day. I can’t help but worry about the country we live in today and how it is swiftly losing the adaptation of civility in our daily life. I never would have imagined as a young child growing-up in one of the most liberal and democratic societies that the simple act of kindness could and would evaporate like raindrops on a hot summer’s day because the greatest example of the lack of civility and deep, profound respect for others lives in the White House in Washington D.C.!

BEAUTY...SOFTNESS...KINDNESS

QUOTES TO LEARN FROM

“We have a choice about how we behave, and that means we have the choice to opt for civility and grace.”

– Dwight Currie

"A generous friend 

gives life for a friend 

let's rise above this

animalistic behavior

and be kind to one another"

– Mevlana Rumi

“Three things in human life are important: The first is to be kind. The second is to be kind, and the third is to be kind.” 

– Henry James

As promised above, I captured this rolling meter at a specific moment in time: 8:18:00, Wednesday morning, July 4, 2018. I am posting the active meter once again to give you the current stats, captured in real time, as a point of comparison. What a huge difference twenty-four hours can make! 

Current World Population

7,633,571,610

TODAY

Births today

157,751

Deaths today

65,339

Population Growth today

92,412

THIS YEAR

Births this year

71,137,176

Deaths this year

29,464,471

Population Growth this year

41,672

As the earth's population continues to grow, remember to Love one another as humane beings, as well as to, always, incorporate civility into your daily life. With this power we can make our world, our planet, kind and healthy for everyone! 

THANK YOU

Copyright © 2018 by Jacqueline E. Hughes

All rights reserved