In case anyone wonders why at age 69, I still bust my ass for 11 months out of the year

[DFW]

It's so that for one month out of the year, I can have this:






I can't believe it's almost over, but I told my wife when we got here a few weeks ago,
this will fly by as if it were only a long weekend. And so it has.

[elleng]

1. Lovely.

Thinking of heading north in a while.

[2naSalit]

3. I want to go to...

New England but I think I need to wait until next year.

[DFW]

11. I've always loved it here

If we ever retire back to the USA, New England is where it will be.

[elleng]

12. I really CAN'T wait, gotta see my 2 grands (in NJ,) 5 + 7 years old,

then explore a few things further north; wanting to see some R.I. places, and NH and VT where relatives live.

[DFW]

18. I really don't don't know R.I. much at all

I had relatives in NH for decades. That was on the border with VT, so I've seen some of that, too. Ironically, that was BEFORE I even met Howard. Bad timing!

[elleng]

21. I don't know much of R.I. either, but

have heard about Portuguese culture, restaurants and interesting items, like 'Awful Awful,' so wanna try; wish my mother could join me.

Folks rented a vacay house central east VT, overlooking NH, and found it 3 years ago; quite a view of White Mountains.

[DFW]

6. I don't blame you!

The weather has been more erratic than in previous years, but we have had enough good weather to compensate for the bad. Plus, the air, the food, the calm, the music and the people always make the 4500 mile trek worthwhile. Just Tuesday, one of the locals, a woman we met some 35 years ago, when we first started coming here, invited me to come to a Celtic music get-together at a restaurant down in Wellfleet, the next town over. There were twelve or so musicians there. Fiddles, mandolins, a hammer dulcimer, and two guitars, of which I was one. No money or official occasion, just something the locals do twice a month. My wife was so impressed, she bought all the musicians a round (except me, whom she forgot!).

Truro, Massachusetts, in case anyone wants to know where this is.

[jmbar2]

2. Beautiful

Where is it?

[DFW]

7. Truro, Massachusetts

Bay side.

[ShazzieB]

26. I was just getting ready to ask where this is, lol!

Truro is on Cape Cod, right? Sounds (and looks) wonderful!

[DFW]

28. Correct! Right near the outer tip

One town down from Provincetown.

[2naSalit]

4. They rarely ever last long enough.

[DFW]

8. Ain't THAT the truth!

I'm finally beginning to understand why some people retire.

[2naSalit]

37. ...

[DFW]

38. You've convinced me. I'm putting my top brass on notice today.

Eleven more years. Tops. When I hit my 80th birthday, I'm OUTTA here!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

5. Wow, what wonderful photos, my dear DFW!

And there you are, playing the guitar. It looks so idyllic.

I hope you got to recharge your batteries, eat great food and sleep as long as you like!

Safe travels home!

[DFW]

9. Except for sleeping as long as I'd like!

Our USA-based daughter was here the whole time with us, and she has her 3 month old son with her. Her husband is here, too, but he can change his own diapers................

But I DO recharge the old batteries, no question. Our banjo-playing friend, whom we have known for years, started coming here for the whole summer (lucky sod!), since his work can be done remotely, and we didn't even know it until recently. He and his wife rent a small place in Provincetown. His dad was one of the original young (at the time) Watergate prosecutors!

[Bristlecone]

13. That last bit is interesting. I know the son and grandson(know him much better)

Of Nixon’s defense lawyer.

[DFW]

15. Small world

Both sides of that little duel!

I know the former Watergate prosecutor fairly well, too. He's still alive. Hillary had him vet her possibles for her VP pick in 2016, although he had no say in her choice.

[Bristlecone]

19. Indeed

Have a great remaining trip and thx again for the pics. I miss New England and primarily the water.

[DFW]

20. 8 more days

I will try to savor every one!

[Bristlecone]

10. The best part of the Cape imho. Great pics. TY for sharing.

[DFW]

14. We don't even know the upper Cape very well.

There are some very fancy and ritzy parts (Hyannis, Chatham, e.g.), I hear. Not interested.

Out here, it's the academics, non-conformists, the artists, the few farmers left, and the oddballs. Our kind of people!

[lpbk2713]

16. I grew up in Hingham.

Some years we would vacation in the Cape even though it wasn't very far. New Hampshire is nice too.

Thanks for the pics.

[DFW]

17. I like NH, too. I had cousins there growing up.

My uncle was a professor at the Dartmouth Medical School, so I spent a lot of summer weeks in Hanover while my cousins were still in school.

[smirkymonkey]

22. Beautiful! I miss the Cape!

We went to Chatham every summer when I was growing up, but I really love the outer cape as well. It's so peaceful and P-town is a blast.

Glad you are enjoying your holiday! I am so close, but I tend to go to Maine (Kennebunkport) these days because i have a free place to stay and it's easy to take the train (Amtrak) up from North Station. I would love to get down to the Cape again soon though.

[DFW]

24. We haven't been back to Maine in 7 years.

It is beautiful Down East, too. A ship was being built at the Bath Iron Works, and it was named after the father of a dear friend of ours, so we went there for the christening. The Sunday brunch at the Harraseeket Inn in Freeport was almost worth the trip alone!

[mitch96]

33. I really like Portland Maine.. I'm fortunate to have an old friend who lives there...

Nice small city on the water.... Good food, good drink and nice people... This year we are gonna go up to Mt Washington in NH and maybe whale watching???
m

[DFW]

34. The weather hasn't been as good as in previous years

Cooler and a lot more rain, but enough sun to make it worthwhile.

The people and the food are as good as ever!

[mitch96]

35. I'll be checking it out in Sept. Fly/drive with my friend of 65 years.. Geezers on parade! nt

[DFW]

36. Next year, we join the geezer ranks ourselves

Geriatric Power!

[mitch96]

42. "Geriatric Power!"........Metamucil ? 😉. nt

[pioche4]

23. What a beautiful post!

Thank you! I so hope other families can have time together like this too

[DFW]

25. We hope all that want to, can

My brother and sister both made it up for a few days, and it is a rare occasion that all three of us are in the same place at the same time. With our family, since not everyone is a U.S. citizen, getting permission to travel is not always a given.

[calimary]

29. Sometimes I feel like my whole life has flown by as though it were only a long weekend!

When you start thinking back not just years but decades...

But the journey is well worth it - and damn interesting as all shit!

[DFW]

31. Agreed on all points! n/t

[LittleGirl]

30. Our trip to CA is scheduled for late September

and I have a bad feeling that it will be too late (per virus). We went to Providence-town a while ago and it's a lovely place. I love that part of the MA.
Safe travels home.

[DFW]

32. Many miles yet for me.

My wife flies back to Germany a week from Sunday. I have things to do in the States for nearly 3 weeks after that, so I don't get back until the end of the month.

[mopinko]

39. bless your heart. i'm 67 in a bit, and

i am beginning to wonder how much longer i can work my ass off.
had a lot of health problems the last couple years, and dont know if this is my usual peaks and valleys, or if this is the down slope ferealz.

i wont die if it's time to hang it up. someone else can run this thing i built, and take a cut. i'll be fine.
one thing living w chronic illness teaches you is when to hang it up.

[DFW]

40. My wife and I have both had our own health scares

I inherited a lousy cholesterol count from both sides of my family, and have already had two cardiac near-misses. My wife has beat cancer twice, including one rare variant known at the clinic that treated her as "The Murderer." She was that one poster child in ten thousand that beat it, didn't even need chemo. It is completely silent, never makes its presence known until it is too late to save the patient. My wife's case was discovered at its very beginning by pure luck/accident. Had that not happened, I would have lost her four years ago at the outside.

I painted myself into a corner jobwise. My position needs such specialized skills and documents that my job security was ironclad. The downside of that is that I can't find a replacement. I have no earthly idea what would happen if I had to sign off tomorrow. But Mother Nature came close to signing me out twice already, so I can't discount the possibility. Plus, both of my parents and all of their siblings had cancer, so with me, it's not a question of "if," but "when?"

So, we just take it as it comes, and if events beyond our control dictate a change of plans, we'll deal with it then, and as best we can. My dad was struck down in what can only be described as "the prime of his retirement." A dedicated journalist, his idea of retirement was going into Washington only four days a week instead of five. My mom didn't know whether to be frustrated or relieved. He lived for that job. When they were filming "Advise and Consent" in Washington, the plot called for a bit part of a Capitol Hill journalist. Some Congressman spied my dad, and told the film crew--"there's your perfect reporter." And so he got a bit part in a Hollywood film for being himself. When he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, he hung on for over ten months, and his farewell column appeared just 8 days before he died. My mom's dad sent out a Christmas card at age 99 with a photo of himself and the caption, "Compliments of the Seasoned." We are a tenacious lot by nature.

[mopinko]

41. for the most part the women in my family are made of strong stuff.

80's & 90's are common. mostly healthy and with it.
the men, not so reliably. at least on my da's side.

my mom was still working full time as the queen of the xray dept. but at this point she had had a heart attack that wasnt dx'd, and ended up w serious damage. a 2nd one at 69 brought it to light. so, yeah, at my age she was working every day w a badly damaged heart. she got it fixed, and had another happy, healthy decade as a retiree w a part time job.
i always thought that would be me. til last year. i realized that my 'mixed autoimmune disease' is what made my da and old man at 50. i'm sick of being a medical mystery, and am storing up patience to have a sit down w the doc that has been treating my symptoms for over a decade.
if i cant feel better than this, it's time for the rocking chair.
it's not a crisis. this thing is a long term project that i knew from the beginning i would not be able to run at some point. of course, i thought the rest of my family would be there. then in the 3rd yr i split w the 30yr hubs, and the kids scattered, and and and.

i could lease it out tho, and get someone else to deal w the pita that is rental property. or fuck it, sell it, and try to spend it all before the heirs get their hands on it.
not at all an odd place for an entrepreneur to find herself.
but boy howdy am i weary to the bone of the medical/industrial complex. i was taught to revere docs, and it took a long time for that to wear off. their utter lack of curiosity baffles and saddens me. the arrogance i knew about.

[DFW]

44. We've had friends in Germany with similar-sounding symptoms

You know what it turned out to be? Of all things, it was Lyme disease. It used to be so rare in Germany, my wife had to practically threaten a suit for malpractice before the German docs would test for it. For decades it was unknown north of Hungary. With global warming, it is no longer in the „unknown here“ category, but 20 years ago, the Lyme-bearing ticks didn‘t show up as far north as Düsseldorf. The arrogant doctors figured that if they had never seen it, then they had no reason to test for it. They were always amazed (but never apologetic) when my wife turned out to be right. My wife represented timid relatively poor people, who never got anywhere questioning authority. The amazed doctors, upon receiving the positive Lyme test, always reacted with, „well how was I to know?“ my wife angrily replied, „you didn‘t have to know, but it was your duty to find out!“

[mopinko]

45. west nile virus lit this rocket.

but it was already bad enough before that.
had most viruses and 6 pregnancies. little bits of gas on the fire.

i once to a neuro/psyche exam. i was starting to have trouble w words, and for some reason you cant take just the neuro half.
the psyche half had this sexist gem of a question- do you have things wrong w you that drs cant explain?
i barely know a woman who doesnt, i know few men who do.
but sure, must mean i'm crazy.

soooooo sick of it.

[DFW]

46. Trouble with words

Is there a reliable test for Republicanitis?

Seriously, my wife has had words with some medical personnel while in the hospital in Germany. Once, a Polish nurse came in a told her to take some pills. My wife asked what the pills were and what they were for. The nurse told her she didn‘t need to know what they were for. My wife gave her an earful that she probably remembers to this day.

[mopinko]

47. you shoulda been there the day

my youngest's pediatric gastro refused to sign her 504 plan because she shouldnt feel that bad, and i just needed to drag her ass to school if that's what it took.

i dropped the f bomb all the way to the elevator.

[634-5789]

43. Same reason at 69 I pick up litter all season long!