And The Beat Goes On

As I typed out “January 1st, 2018” I had a sort of historic feeling. I began my job with the Grand Trunk Western Railroad early in 1948 and worked for them until 1983. That totaled up to 35 years service. Then I totaled up the years I have been retired and I came up with 35 years. That means that I have been retired as long as I worked for the railroad and I’ve received a small pension from them all those years. Now that sounds really weird to me. Now it isn’t like I have been sitting in a rocking chair all those years. I have often worked a seven day week and burned the midnight oil running my own business and I have had a seat on one of those red eye flights many times to make it to the next city to give a presentation. But oh the joy I have experienced in these past 35 years. When you are blessed to find an occupation that you truly love then what you are doing no longer becomes “work.”

At 88 I still come into my office each day and I’m always writing at something. Occasionally I go out and make a live presentation and I go at it with all the gusto I can muster. I find that same joy in presenting.
I still can’t get over that… 35 years since I packed up my stuff and walked out of my offices at that old Grand Trunk Depot in Battle Creek and moved into that tiny office I’d rented in the basement of a popular local freelance artist’s office near my home. It wasn’t like I was jumping off a cliff exactly. I had already lined up a number of bookings and I already had several books published.

Now I have to figure out what I want to do for the next 35 years. Our garage needs a good cleaning. There’s some dust accumulated on the books covering the walls of my office and upstairs in my music room. I’ve got some exercise equipment that I have neglected far too long. And I need to find more room somewhere to put some of my stuff. It looks like another good year ahead.