What it must be like to be retired

The other day I had a vacation day. What with the air conditioning man coming and the rain I ended up spending the day doing not much of anything. I was thinking this is what it must be like being retired.

The first thing you notice is the activity of your neighborhood. With all the busy people off at work, the retired people come out and gossip. Then the stay at home parents come out with their toddlers and their dogs. One mother seems to make a lot of noise when she walks by. I wonder if they all are cleaning up after their canines. These are the types of thoughts retired people must have at 10am in the morning.

The air conditioning man came and put in the part. I guess I'll know if it's working on Memorial Day of next year. Got the see the maintenance man for the complex come by in his tractor.

The phone rang about every half hour. Guess they've been waiting for me to be home on a weekday. No I don't have a bag of clothes for the vets. Sorry I gave my used clothing to Lupus last month. "No I have my own charities" I told the cop on the phone. Hope I don't get a ticket for speeding next week.

Finally I drove off for a nice diner breakfast. Boy, all the construction they don't do during rush hour they do on weekday mornings. The diner was half filled. I ordered breakfast. Luckily they do late late breakfasts. Nice place, all the retired men seem to go there for coffee and transfats to wash down their Lipitor.

Early afternoon I listened to Leonard Lopate. Whenever he has a guest he always lets you know what he (Leonard) knows about the topic. The guest is explaining how Napoleon's family moved to America. Yes, we know Leonard that Napoleon's brother lived in Bordentown with a mistress. Now let the guest talk.

Leonard reminds me of the person who works in a library when she is taking a class in library school. She knows more than the teacher because she is a page in Plainfield.

Finally I turn on WXPN radio. They are playing the 885 greatest records of all time, as voted by the listeners. Right now they are in the 300's. I'm hearing the Allman Brothers, the Moody Blues, the Who, and Ten Years After. Sounds like they are playing the record collection of the the guy up the hall from me at Davidson freshman year. It will be interesting to hear the list in a few years when all us baby boomers are dead or on ventilators.

Well the day is about over or at least is about the time I usually get home from work. Tomorrow I get to enter the working world again. Thank god it will be Friday.