Grugger’s Way

RETIRED AND RESTLESS isn’t just a slogan or tag line for my blog; it’s my life now.  And frankly, the “Restless” part is becoming more prominent as summer is quickly passing.

And it’s not just this summer; it’s ANOTHER summer!  Yes, another year gone by.  For some reason, and maybe this is a holdover from childhood, my “years” seems to end when the new school year begins. 

THE ENDLESS URGE TO “GET AWAY” FROM IT ALL

Anyway, summer is nearly over and about the only good thing I can say about that is the tourist traffic will soon be off the roads and out of the campgrounds.

I made so many plans for summer and accomplished so little.  Maybe because it takes me so much longer to accomplish anything these days.  I always feel like I could, or should, be doing more.  Yet, whenever I really get enthused and get after a project I seem to overdue it, overexert myself, and end up injured in some manner that I am slowed down for a week or two.

I really wanted to get in some serious flyfishing this summer, but I haven’t been able to get away and hit my favorite spots.  I really get mixed feelings about the “desire” to get away and the “need” to get away.  There is some guilt here because my spouse is working a full-time job and I am retired.  I could go without her, but how to justify that…. Besides, I enjoy her company and would really prefer to be fishing and camping with her…not anyone else…and not alone.   Getting away when I already live in the mountains, is kind of a relative term…just cabin fever I think…just the feeling that life is passing me by while I sit here at the computer.

And there is the truth of it.  I am still sitting here at the computer.

Boomer Toys we must have to Compete

To be “competitive” with our Boomer Generation cohorts, we must always keep in mind the importance of new technology, and “Power” equipment, along with Prices and “Prestige Value.” Here are some essential possessions to consider (all are essential):

An All-Terrain Vehicle 4×4 for just wheeling around in the forest and making new roads.
A snowmobile for doing the same thing in the winter.
A Waverunner for doing (sort of) the same thing on the water.
Perhaps a Motorcycle, but not just any bike.  A BIG one. (My own Father called them murdercycles, so I’ve never had one).

Techie Gadgets:

Newest high-end laptop computer
Newest digital camera and video camera equipment with highest resolution.
GPS device (If you don’t know what it is, this may be the exception to “essential”)
Smart phone. (ditto above)
Satellite Phone
Satellite Radio
Satellite Dish for the motor home
In-vehicle Navigation System (Make certain that it actually “talks” to you too.)
Amazon’s Kindle, the digital book reader

Other “Stuff”

Newest model ski, snowboard, and snowshoe equipment
Bullets that can pierce ANYTHING
Fly rod that threads itself, ties its own flies, and throws the line thirty feet with no assistance. Golf clubs that do all the stuff fly rods can do plus drive the ball 300 yards
Bicycles, two each, (one for the road and one for the mountain trails)
Latest smart fabric in outdoor wear
The coolest outdoor boot on the market
The most expensive running shoe. (It doesn’t matter whether you run in them or not; just wear them occasionally.)

Tools:

Pets:  A dog.  A “big dog,” because the size of a man’s pet reflects on his masculinity.  After all, he has to retain the “alpha” position in the household, and it is a negative reflection on a man’s virility if he can only “manage” a ten-inch pug or shih-tsu at the end of a leash.  (Have you ever witnessed a man taking a cat for a walk on a leash?)

Trophy Spouse:  Okay, a spouse is not supposed to be a “toy” but then neither is a pet.  And, the term “spouse” is used because this works both ways.  Ideally, the trophy spouse is at least ten years younger.  Fifteen years is better; and Twenty years younger “almost” says it ALL. (You have to also re-read “big dog” above)

Size Does Matter - Boomer Toys

We have so many toys.  I looked around today and realized how much stuff we have acquired.  Of course we don’t need a lot of this stuff-we just wanted it.

I’ve noticed that my Boomer Generation friends have more toys than I do.  That doesn’t bother me anymore because I’ve found a way to make fun, sort of, in that we ALL have too many adult toys.

The size of our toys does matter, too, at least sometimes.  Take the motor home, for example.  As size goes, this is probably the biggest toy of all.  Costliest too.  And when we buy a motor home, we must buy UP to ALL THAT WE CAN AFFORD.   

To do less might imply that we could only afford what we purchased. Of course, we can always buy DOWN and say we are becoming “greener” by reducing the size of our carbon footprint, etc. One thing we don’t want to say is ANYTHING about the Mileage or the Price of GAS! That’s a dead giveaway that we are economizing.

Another sizable toy is the boat.  If we need to buy a boat, (and who doesn’t), we have to choose what we are SAYING by the type of boat we choose.  If we go for POWER and SPEED, that says “recreation” and “water sports.”  If we go for usefulness, like fishing, we buy a work boat.  That’s not too impressive.  (Not unless it is a BIG, saltwater type of fishing boat. That’s different.  Might as well buy a Soviet trawler.) 

There is another alternative:  buy an inflatable raft.  First, it must be at least a six-man in order to hold four people.  Second, it must have a rigid transom for attaching a motor (ah..speed) .  Then you have to have a very cool trailer setup with lots of storage.  So…a RAFT says adventure!  Whitewater! Danger! Plus, you can fish with it too.  With a motor, you can go fast!  Think of a rigid inflatable boat (RIB)…like the Navy SEAL Teams use.

(Have you ever heard this definition of a boat?  “It’s like a big hole in the lake into which you keep throwing money.”)

Yes, I have joined the Boomer RV crowd and have enjoyed some recent outings where I met a number of really terrific folks who are often 10-20 years older than I am.  That makes them 71 to 81 years old, and they are a vibrant, enthusiastic life-loving group of RV owners and campers.   I recently discovered a pretty good blog site for the RV crowd as well.  It’s the RV.Net (http://blog.rv.net) and they feature a number of authors who specialize in particular aspects of RV camping and the phenomenon known as “full-timing.”    These are folks who write about cooking, RV maintenance, power trains and road emergencies.   

Since my wife and I recently purchased a used motor home we also received invitations to join the Good Sam Club.  There are some pretty good benefits here too and the web site is great.  I have found that I particularly enjoy the Good Sam Club magazine, Highways.  

Anyway, this weekend was spent at a very close-by RV park that also features a Square Dance center, so the place was really “hopping.” Sort of.  I think we are really enjoying our early experiences with the motor home and perhaps some day we will be ready to go “full-time” but for now, weekenders keep us occupied and still close enough to home that we can take care of our pets’ medications without having to entrust them to someone else. 

I’m beginning to Enjoy the Retired Life.