I met Brent and Sharon Harmon in early 2007 when David and I first got serious about the RV lifestyle. I’m not sure how our interest was first piqued. The first thing I remember is David showing me a luxury motorhome on his computer. It sported a mid-six figure price tag, and we laughed over the impossibility of owning one as we oohed and aahed over the fancy, tricked-out bus. (more…)
If It’s Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium is a movie released in the late 60s about a nine-country, eighteen-day bus trip from London to Rome. If you’ve ever been on one of those whirlwind tours, you know the disorienting feeling of waking up with no idea of where you are or what day it is. In fact, if you’re retired and are no longer tied to a work schedule, you may experience that in your own home from time to time. You may worry that this is a sign of the big “A,” but according to the Alzheimer’s Association, if by the time you’ve washed your face and had your first cup of coffee, the fog has lifted, you have nothing to worry about. The confusion of time or place that may be a warning sign is described like this: (more…)
David and I recently took our first trip since Mom died. On the drive home from her funeral, I looked out the window at the passing scenery and wanted to go home, pack up the RV, and head out. Along with the sadness and loss, I felt the lifting of a burden, of a years-long task finally completed, and I wanted to live out that freedom on the open road. But it wasn’t a good time and may not be for a while. Finances are tight, and we have responsibilities around Emory that we can’t drop at a moment’s notice. But short jaunts are doable, and last week we drove to Louisiana to celebrate the Fourth with David’s family. (more…)
I’ve been writing about my Medicare experiences the last couple of days, about the feelings and response when I received my card and about the confusion and decisions involved in choosing coverage. But the real experiences came the last couple of weeks when I used my cards for the first time. (more…)
One of the disadvantages of country living is the lack of services. We have city water and electricity, but we have a septic tank instead of city sewer service. We don’t have cable, so the only way we can get TV reception is with a satellite dish. And then there’s Internet service, or rather, there’s not. The choices are dial-up, which for anyone who spends any time on-line is no choice at all, or satellite, which everyone we know who has tried it, hates. So we’re left with going to the library to use their WiFi or using a wireless card. (more…)
I’ve had too much fun the last couple of days celebrating my birthday and visiting with my family to focus on anything serious, so it’s time for some more senior humor. I hope you enjoy the healing balm of a chuckle or two. (more…)
My 7-year-old grandson Mattias frequently makes comments or asks questions that get him published in his dad’s writings or at least posted on Facebook. This is the most recent one.
“Dad, how come, when people get older, they smell a little bit worse?” (more…)
One of my Facebook/writer friends recently posed this question and quickly received a number of responses. I thought about it a while and told her my answer was too long for a FB response and that I’d write a blog post about it. So Krista, this one’s for you. (more…)
We took the motorhome to the RV doctor in Rockwall earlier this week. Some people think RVers are gas hogs who ignore environmental issues as we roll along the highway spewing emissions. I’m doing some research and some thinking about the greener side of RVing, but that will have to wait for a later post. For now, I’ll just say that we try to make (more…)
David and I have a mixture of old-fashioned and up-to-date ideas about roles in our marriage. We believe in the Apostle Paul’s teaching that the husband is the spiritual head of the family, but we also believe the teaching is based on mutual respect and mutual submission rather than a master/slave relationship. (more…)
