Retirement is not without Hassles: Venus #516

As much as I insist that every day is the same in retirement, Friday still seems to stand out as the best. It may eventually lose its special status once my wife joins me in retirement and there’s no longer a reminder that it’s a workday for everyone else. However, until then, it will continue to signify the end of weekly labor and the beginning of the weekend. Plus, everyone seems to be in a better mood on Fridays.

As the Dutch group, Shocking Blue, sang back in 1970, “She’s got it, Yeah baby, she’s got it, Well, I’m your Venus, I’m your fire, At your desire.” The name Friday means the “day of Frige,” associating the Old English goddess Frigg with the Roman goddess of love, Venus. In Latin it translates to “day of Venus.”  Workers in the United Kingdom and Australia refer to it as POETS day – “Piss Off Early Tomorrow’s Saturday.” It makes me think of Detective Sergeant “Joe” Friday on Dragnet, Friday Night Lights, Friday the 13th, Good Friday, Black Friday, and Casual Friday. It’s also apparently a stoner movie starring Ice Cube and Chris Tucker.

We did recently travel to Paris, visited the Louvre Museum for a third time, and marveled at the ancient Greek statue of Venus de Milo, thought to be the work of Alexandros of Antioch created sometime between 130 and 100 BC. It was found on the Greek island of Milos that our cruise ship passed nearby, as we motored from Santorini to Athens. It still strikes me as a Greek Tragedy that many of these treasures have ended up in French and British museums. The French did return the Medici Venus to the Italians after it had been looted by Napoleon Bonaparte. We know that he had “short-man’s syndrome, but also apparently some Venus envy! In the process of giving back, the French began to selfishly promote how “their” remaining Venus de Milo was an even greater treasure, even though it was found in Greece. This was also the case with many pieces of the Parthenon’s facade that were moved to England for safe keeping and never returned. The Greeks still consider it to be theft, as is probably the same situation with Venus. After all, she was unarmed! 

Friday is the day of our weekly “Leadership Meeting” or “Early Happy Hour,” so even us lazy retirees continue to celebrate its special place at the conclusion of the work week. While we could do it everyday, we chose the day of Venus to “love” cold beer, hot wings, and casual conversation. It’s still our day to “piss off” and solve the world problems. We have a lot to discuss today including the recent success of Indiana University basketball recruiting, the possibility of Major League baseball in Portland, the change in broadcasting rights for University of Oregon sports, movies & documentaries we all should watch, the Cubs/Cardinals series, the Kentucky Derby, Indianapolis 500, and any upcoming antique & collectible events. It should be just three of us for today’s luncheon, with no guest speakers expected. I’ll also make an exchange of empty wine bottles for full ones from the exclusive Walleye Winery.

My wife and I head for the Big Island of Hawaii tomorrow, hoping we won’t be greeted by a river of hot lava following yesterday’s intense eruption of Kilauea volcano. Several thousand people have been evacuated from the other side of the island from where we’ll be staying in conjunction with the Oregon Auto Dealers Association convention. While my wife attended some meetings, I had intended to rent a car and drive over to the Hilo area, but now I think I’ll stay as far away as possible. In other words, I have no “desire” to see the “fire.”