Category: CREATURE FEATURES (Page 30 of 37)

Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My! (Plus dogs and cats)

Retirement is not without Hassles: Retirement Routine #438

February 22, 2018 / mikeljohnston1 / 0 Comments

No mail. No trash. No plumber. Just snow.

This sums up yesterday’s excitement and why should have be very busy. Maybe tomorrow? The weather this week has affected my retirement routine, so tomorrow will be the make-up day. Plus, I could not have picked a less entertaining combination of a book and documentary to be “my time” companions. It seems that I have been reading the Grant biography for an eternity, as it continues to drag along like the Civil War, and the Ken Burns documentary The Dust Bowl turned out to be one of his most depressing subject matters, comparable to Cancer. After four hours, I felt like my shoulders were gathering dust, watching these poor, misfortune Americans battle a decade of droughts, starvation, poverty, dirt storms, disease, locusts, and death. It did make me appreciate the “tropical lush” conditions of the Northwest and how trivial my retirement hassles really are. No Mail. No trash. No plumber. Oh My!

Tinker has to go to the vet for a cortisone shot, this too delayed from earlier this week due to early closings from the weather. Vet.Pet.Debt. The sink will finally get fixed, a hassle that I wouldn’t have if I didn’t have indoor plumbing. Trash pickup and mail delivery will hopefully resume as the ice melts, and my wife can return to driving herself to work. However, with the leadership meeting tomorrow, fundraisers to attend, and a red-eye to catch, my preferred role as a homebody will have to wait at least another week-and-a-half. I don’t think there’s enough drama or intrigue in my life for a book or documentary. I admittedly lead an uneventful, boring life with exaggerated hassles that I force you to read about every day. Just be patient – wait for it – there will be something of value in at least one of these next 10,995 posts. (See Post #433).

I was forced to run on the treadmill yesterday and today, rather than risk breaking my neck on the icy streets, just to keep my nine-year-plus running streak intact. (See Post #6). I will soon be running on foreign turf, boat decks, through airports, cobblestone streets, around walled cities, over canals, and “streak” through the famous “Red Light District.” I will be running despite too much food from the cruise buffets, rough seas, and after too much to drink because of the unlimited alcohol package that we purchased. I will also undoubtedly overdo it on bottomless Diet Cokes, irresistible pizza snacks, rich desserts, and 24-hour breakfast bars. “Run, Forest, Run!” or should that be “Drink, Mike, Drink?”

I was pleased to discover that we’re actually getting a small tax refund from my first retirement return, after years of “paying the piper.” I also saved a little money after discovering a couple of billing mistakes on my credit card. I certainly have the time now to carefully monitor my money and fight for these credits. Most of the cruise is already paid in advance, along with hotel costs, shore excursions, and tickets, so I won’t need to further tap into my bleeding IRA. We will next start to take advantage of our Marriott Vacation Club investment to reduce our $1,000 a day average travel expense. (See Post #323). The pets will once again be left behind in the care of a house sitter, so I will miss my daily conversation with them, but not the responsibility of taking them out five times a day or more. The countdown clock on the Viking Cruise website is down to 24 days. This is a much more appealing countdown than the one on the Hood To Coast website from last year. (See Post #220).

My wife has been safely delivered to work again this morning. Date night was cancelled to further disrupt our weekly routine. My meal preparation was also shaky this week, as I apparently ruined a cast iron skillet, burned some of the sweet potatoes, and made another characteristic mess. It tasted great thanks to the pork belly, but it was not one of my more successful aesthetic culinary presentations. On the positive side, I’m looking forward to a week off from my kitchen responsibilities so we can both recover from my cooking incompetency. For the first time in 14 months, I’ve gone to work every day this week, but only to drop her off and pick her up. It’s also a practice that I hope doesn’t become routine.

Retirement is not without Hassles: Retirement Depression #437

February 21, 2018 / mikeljohnston1 / 0 Comments

If I had to define retirement depression, it would be when you don’t get to do what you want to do. This could be because you’re not physically, mentally, or financially able to do something, when you’re restricted to someone else’s schedule, or you’re lacking companionship. Work always put you on someone else’s schedule, so I’m glad to be retired and have the freedom to control my own time – but there are exceptions. I was a bit depressed yesterday because I was on my wife’s schedule when weather interrupted my planned routine for the day. It wasn’t as if I had anything important planned, it was because I selfishly wanted a day to unwind from the rigors of recent travel. Instead, I shuttled her back and forth from work, dealing with icy hills, tentative commuters, and uncooperative stop lights. In the process, my wife enjoyed the company of our two dogs on what is typically a lonely drive to work. The dogs loved it, too, while I liked the companionship, just not the driving responsibilities.

After running several errands on the way to and from her offices, it seemed like an eternity before I finally got back home. Then, I had to turn around and go back. The same thing happened today, as my shuttle services resumed after several more inches of snow were deposited overnight. More is expected yet this week before we head back to Indiana and face similar weather conditions. On the positive side, there are few hills to navigate, but to get there we face a red-eye flight schedule, and once we arrive, days filled with family obligations. Once again, we’re on someone else’s schedule.

The same could be said about our upcoming cruise. Every day is filled with rigorous schedules to follow that involve airlines, tour guides, and ship routes. Once we get on the boat, we’re a captive audience limited to embarkment and disembarkment points along the way. We have a ticket for a specified time to visit Anne Frank’s home in Amsterdam, and have laid-out specific sites that we need to see in Venice and Athens. We’re doing organized shore excursions to a farmer’s market in Slovenia, historic sites in Sibenik, a cable car ride in Croatia, plus walks around Montenegro, Corfu, Olympia, Santorini, and Ancient Greece. We have also scheduled spa appointments and dinner reservations. Not a day goes by where there is not a structured plan. It almost sounds exhausting, but it’s the only way to see and do the things we want to explore. I’m surprised that we are not restricted to toilet times. There will be no time for depression, but rest and “my time” will be badly needed once we return.

I’m not making fun of depression, a malady that I’ve had to deal with several times in my life. Some people never recover, while others take their own lives. I’ve been on medication on two different occasions that resolved some issues but created others, and to a lesser degree began to take Vitamin D3 and use a “Happy Lamp” to counter the lack of sunshine when we first moved here to Portland. Furthermore, I have sought professional therapy and tried to prepare for potential depression that others have experienced in the transition from a fulfilling career to retirement. Honestly, I have been too busy in retirement to allow the cloud of depression to settle over me. It does rear its ugly head when I don’t get to do what I want to do because money, illness, loneliness, or injury gets in the way. These are the four major challenges of old age that every retiree has to overcome in avoiding serious depression. It’s possible to have a really bad day in retirement, but much more likely that the worse days are behind me in trying to balance career, family, and education. Now, a bad day is nothing but a selfish pout when I can’t stay home and avoid reality.

Retirement is not without Hassles: Ski #423

February 7, 2018 / mikeljohnston1 / 0 Comments

I’ve spent a lot of on airplanes in my 66 years, but I still find it exciting to fly. What I don’t enjoy is the packing, airport commute, parking, shuttle bus, security, and waiting. I’m now more than an hour early at the gate, and can feel some of the pre-departure stress starting to melt away. After all these years, I still experience the anxiety of getting there on time. There’s just too much that can go wrong, and I’m always a bit of a mess in anticipation. I’m grumpy, impatient, intolerant, and inconvenienced until I finally have settled into my seat.

Today was no exception, since I also had ski equipment to contend with, making my travel bag dangerously close to the 50 pound limit. There was no room for error, as I carefully weighed in at one of the pre-check scales ready to transfer weight from bag to bag if necessary. I got my “exact”money’s worth as a master packer. Getting rid of all that baggage, never to be seen again until arrival, was a relief.

Cumbersome skis, heavy boots, extra clothing, and lots of preparation time are the downsides of a ski trip. Exhilaration, camaraderie, and unbuckling your boots for a cocktail are the upsides. I have a three-day ski pass to use before my wife arrives for the weekend. We both hate the fact that we’re apart, but she is not a skier. She’s coming in primarily for a friend’s 65th birthday celebration.

I should probably wear the sign, “Caution: Senior Skier” for everyone’s safety. After two years away from the slopes, I’m sure that my steadiness on skis has further deteriorated. I was never a totally confident skier, having only learned the sport in my thirties. I try to always stay on two skies, never take chances, avoid moguls, and slowly cut a path to the bottom. I’m usually the last one down, getting the side-to-side “most” out of the course. If my skiing is anything like my running, I get slower every year, so flashing warning lights might be advisable.

I first skied at the Lake Geneva Playboy Club in a brown corduroy suit, with no lessons or support. The college friends I went with were all expert skiers and quickly abandoned me to the Bunny Slopes- maybe it was my outfit! I put the skis on that they loaned me, pointed them downhill, and unable to stop promptly crashed into the lift-line at the bottom. Embarrassed, I took the skis off and waited in the lounge, too young to even legally order a drink.

It wouldn’t be until 12 years later that I finally took a lesson and tried again. My fearless young son learned to ski along with me, and had much quicker success than I did. I painfully discovered that it wasn’t like water skiing. It required you to lean forward not back, and I slowly began to gain control and to use my edges to navigate. I’ve now skied in Colorado, Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan, Vermont, Utah, Idaho, Montana, West Virginia, Oregon, and British Columbia.

Despite my experience, my body doesn’t always cooperate. Running keeps me in shape, but age has taken a toll on my legs. High altitude and seldom used thigh muscles keep me breathless and humble. Crowded slopes make me nervous and un-groomed trails seem treacherous. However, it’s still fun to do, and I’m thankful I still can. Years ago, it seemed like there were more Senior Citizen discounts that I vowed to take advantage of some day. Well, that day has come and there were no Silver Skier discounts that I could find.

Retirement is not without Hassles: Friendship #420

February 4, 2018 / mikeljohnston1 / 0 Comments

The month of February is all about friendship and love. It started with two concerts and dinner with good friends. We saw 72 year-old Bruce Cockburn and 65 year-old John Hiatt, two performers that I would not have normally gone to see, but thoroughly enjoyed. It was good to see two fellow Senior Class members still active on the circuit. I was envious of their continued passion for their work, extending their careers into the twilight of their lives. Both of my retired buddies play and collect guitars, so I often follow their lead on must-be-seen-before-they-die performers. I’m rarely disappointed, and get to experience some of the unique music venues around Portland, like the Aladdin Theater and Revolution Hall. Also, older audiences tend to be better behaved and prefer to remain seated, rather than interfere with your view of the stage in favor of their awkward dance moves.

My best friend & wife next went to see the movie, Lady Bird, as a popcorn dinner and holding hands is our weekly tradition. We certainly hold hands more often, but restrict our popcorn eating to theaters and sometimes ballparks. I will leave her for a few days this week to ski with old friends in Steamboat. She doesn’t ski and prefers warmer climates to use her precious vacation time, so she’ll spend just her weekend with us, as we celebrate the 65th birthday of our hostess. She and her husband just bought a retirement home near the slopes, so they invited several of us to join them for the week. I will approach the mountain with caution, as all retirees should, hoping to return without a cast. I haven’t skied in at least two years, as evident by the cob webs on the padded travel bag that holds my equipment. The only other item in our garage with more dust on it is my golf bag.

When we aren’t traveling, my wife likes to spend her weekends with her two best friends, our schnauzer pups. When she gets home at night after a hard day at the office, she’s too exhausted to spend much time with them, so she tries to make up for it with long weekend walks. I will run ahead with Tally until she quickly loses interest and then loop back to the slower moving Tinker, who no longer runs and stays at my wife’s side. Tinker is like me in her hesitation to spend too much time outdoors. She has so many allergies and hates the feel of some grasses on her paws, so the outdoors is nothing to her but a giant toilet. In her opinion, there’s no other reason to go out there, unless it’s to go for a ride in the car. On the other hand, Tally loves to romp, and it’s critical to keep her on a leash. The weekend walk/runs give both Tinker and Tally the opportunity to sniff the butts of their furry friends.

My wife enjoys music, but our tastes slightly differ. She prefers uplifting popular music, while I lean more to the blues and classic rock. She has already bought tickets to see Pink, Steely Dan with The Doobie Brothers, James Taylor & Bonnie Raitt, Hall & Oates with Train, Sam Smith, Def Leppard/Journey, and Elton John. I will enjoy all of these shows, for in most cases, the second or third time around. At least, Pink, Sam Smith, and Train are not yet of retirement age and will be fresh new experiences for me. Also, we have reserved seats for each of these shows. The two shows I just attended this past week were in much smaller venues than these Moda Center dates, so it was strictly General Admission. That meant we also had to be there an hour early and wait in line for a decent seat. It makes for a long evening. I much prefer the assigned seats that we have for these upcoming shows, and appreciate that even movie theaters now allow you to select seats in advance. It avoids hassle and saves time, but it still doesn’t resolve the problems associated with those sitting in neighboring seats. (See Post #121).

Our February tour continues from Steamboat to Phoenix, for my wife’s budget meetings. We will have to spend Valentine’s Day apart, but I will fly in the next day once the business sessions conclude. Friends from Tucson will drive us to their home for the weekend. We hooked up with them last year after several years apart, so we’ll get a chance to experience more of the desert. I will then connect with a Fraternity Brother, who I reunited with last year after nearly 40 years. We plan to go to Surprise, Arizona and watch the Oregon State Beavers play Cal Poly in a college baseball tournament. Unfortunately, The timing of the budget meetings is just about a week early for Spring Training, otherwise we would have had some other choices for games. I’ll fly out early the next morning.

The February “friendship and love tour” ends with a trip back to Indiana. My wife’s niece is expecting their first child, and she is being honored with a shower. We also have to take my wife’s 96 year-old mother to the doctor, as is the case several times a year for us. Hopefully, she’ll stay out of the hospital on this trip. In the back of my mind, I still have hopes that I will hear back from my birth mother’s family, but I would also like to go Shelbyville, her home town, and look through the high school yearbooks for some photos of her and her siblings. It’s been about 12 days now since they received my certified letter (See Post #404). It took 9 days for the letter to get to them, so I will approach the mailbox tomorrow like a kid waiting for Christmas.

When the short month of February comes to an end, after spending half of it on the road, I will promise to spend as much time as possible with my wife. I haven’t been very attentive, leaving her alone in favor of other friends. We’ll spend half the month of March on a cruise ship with little time apart, after spending Valentine’s Day in two separate cities. Last year, her meeting didn’t start until the day after, so I’m sure there are other employees disappointed about not spending the “biggest day of love each year” with their significant other. I’ll at least have the two puppies and the cat to keep me company. She’ll have just The Company!

Diary of an Adoptee: Adoptee Diary #411

January 27, 2018 / mikeljohnston1 / 0 Comments

I was having a conversation with a friend today about the potential of finding my birth mother. It’s inspired several posts that I’ve now decided to relabel as “Diary of an Adoptee” rather than “Retirement is not without Hassles.” I’ve also decided to go back through my posts from this past year of retirement and start this new category. I have already used the category of “Creature Features” to write about my love of pets and other animals. Out of that category of posts have generated a humorous children’s book idea about our Schnauzer Tinker. I will call it “The Poopingest Pup on the Planet,” among the 400 plus articles that I’ve written. Tinker is also an adoptee, as is our other schnauzer, Tally.

For any of you that know me personally, I’m not typically a serious writer, as I’m much more comfortable being silly and/or humorous. A majority of the poems that I’ve posted are supposed to be funny. However, sometimes my emotions get the better of me, as I use my writing of this blog to express my inner feelings rather than paying for a therapist. I’ve already had that experience several times in my life, and as the subjects turned serious, the flight mechanism of humor would automatically kick in. I also try to express my passion for sports through the category of “Old Sport Shorts,” that you will also find scattered throughout this blog.

The adoption issues in my life are very emotional, particularly since my adoptive parents died a few years ago. Suddenly, there have been developments that have resulted in the whereabouts of my birth mother. Unfortunately, she may not know about my discovery as yet. I’m waiting for a response from a certified letter that I sent, and this subject weighs heavily on my mind. It’s not funny, so please bear with me, and if you’re not interested in the adoption aspects of my life, then you can confine your reading to my other categories. I wrote this poem today to express some of these feelings, some of which are embarrassing:

Adoptee Diary

I was a child,

With no Family Tree.

Because I was born,

An adoptee.

My father unknown,

Suspected Marine.

The scared mother,

Still a young teen.

.

I’m given the name,

Of Jerry Lee.

And didn’t know who,

My parents might be?

.

The next thing I knew,

A couple agreed.

They’d give me love,

And what else I might need.

.

I was soon in their home,

With the court to decide.

If they were worthy,

To remain at my side.

.

I was named Mike,

As they both agreed.

And I soon began,

To grow like a weed.

.

They raised me as if,

I was their own.

And cared for me,

Until fully grown.

.

With love and support,

I was never alone.

Showed me the skills,

To live on my own.

.

I added a branch,

Through birth of a son.

My family tree,

Had just begun.

.

Grand kids were added,

But my parents passed on.

In the back of my mind,

Not all was gone.

.

I had a name of the girl,

That gave me life.

And the love of another,

My precious wife.

.

It must have been fate,

To find my birth mother.

After all these years,

I also had a brother.

.

With cautious hope,

I wrote to him.

A chance for reunion?

Predictably thin.

.

And as I await,

For a reply.

I’m glad I at least,

Decided to try.

.

As I’m sixty-six.

She’d be eighty-four.

If she’s still able,

I’d be hard to ignore.

.

But is she alive?

And my facts correct?

Could our lives,

Once again intersect?

.

Until I have the answer,

Of a new Family Tree.

I’ve started to write,

The Adoptee Diary.

Diary of an Adoptee: Thanks Cousin #410

January 27, 2018 / mikeljohnston1 / 0 Comments

With all the excitement surrounding the discovery of my birth mother, I needed to send a thank you note to my 23andMe source. According to genetic testing that we both did through the site, we share .96% of our DNA, putting us as close as third cousins. He’s searching for the exact nature of our connection, and in the process we’ve been exchanging information. I wanted him to know of my recent breakthrough, in hopes that it helps us solve some additional mysteries about our roots. This was the note that I just sent him:

Hi Terry – I’ve been remiss in thanking you for the information that you sent. It got me on the right track. The Edna Faye Banister of Shelbyville, Indiana birth certificate that you forwarded, combined with the 1940 Census, matched all 7 of her siblings (including twins one year older) and their ages exactly with the generic information that I received from the adoption agency. This extends right down to the railroad guard employment connections. I then discovered that she was married 5 years later to Charles Poole of Seymour, Indiana. They had a son that they named Jerry Lee (the same name that she gave me at birth through the Suemma Coleman adoption agency in Indianapolis).

The name Jerry Lee Bannister (or Banister) is on all the official court records that I also have in my possession. I was next able to get a White Pages address for Jerry Lee Poole and sent him a certified letter with many of the same documents you sent me. The certified letter was signed for last week and I’m hoping for a reply, once the initial shock wears off. If he decides to share it with his mother? I’m not sure of her health at age 84, but I was able to see recent pictures of her on his Facebook page. There is a resemblance. I apparently had two other younger step brothers through a second marriage that both tragically passed. Furthermore, I sent a note to the son of one of her twin brothers that maintains the Banister family tree through Ancestry.com. I bought a trial membership and entered all my new connections as the Jerry Lee Bannister Family Tree. Thanks to you I now have solved the most important piece of the puzzle, and perhaps can help you if I can get information on the Marine father. I’ll continue to stay in touch, as I get more details – but once again, I can’t thank you enough!

I sent this message through the 23andMe website, hoping that he will share my enthusiasm. As you can probably tell, I am totally consumed in this investigation, and have felt the need to express myself through this blog. It’s definitely personal therapy for me, as I face this touchy situation alone. I promise to share what I know, and to try not to dwell on this subject.

Retirement is not without Hassles: The Mailbox #405

January 24, 2018 / mikeljohnston1 / 0 Comments

I have often referred to the mailbox as my top source of adventure every day, considering the mysteries that are often found there. (See Posts #359, #391, and #397). I admit to not being much of an outdoors-man or a risk taker, so I don’t often take chances like sky diving, mountain climbing, and even hiking to generate a rush of adrenaline. Some may even say that my life is boring, despite the fact that I like to travel a lot. I spend my days wondering if my retirement nest egg will eventually crack under the strain of travel expenses and souvenirs. I seem content sitting inside alone watching documentaries and sports, yet there is this wandering spirit trapped inside me. I need to go here, see that, plan this, and think about my next destination. There’s always a travel brochure in my mailbox.

The mail box has weighed heavily on my mind these past few weeks. The certified letter to my “second family” was delivered and signed for yesterday, so I’m anxiously awaiting a reply. I also find myself ordering more things on-line so there will always be something exciting in the box. I haven’t yet gotten to the point where I’m staring out the window, waiting for the postman to arrive. I remember teasing my grandfather about his “old man” quirks like monitoring the electric meter and hearing the brakes of the mail truck squeak. These were things he looked forward to each day, and I’m beginning to understand. My other grandfather was a Postmaster, so maybe that has something to do with my fascination of mail. His daughter and my mother were both stamp collectors, and I am the beneficiary of their collections. I prefer collecting sports memorabilia instead, and am awaiting some packages and letters related to this interest. To me, the mailbox is like a treasure chest, and I look forward to opening it each day to see what’s inside. Sometimes I only know that it’s Sunday or a holiday because there is no mail to collect.

I should probably order a food service like Blue Apron, so I can also get food delivered to my door every day. My wife is tiring of my slow-cooker recipes. The thrill of getting a night off from kitchen duties is starting to fade. Last night she felt that the ribs I prepared were too soggy and suggested that I break away from “stewing” expensive cuts of meat. Granted, the slow-cooker has become a crutch, a lazy way to fulfill my weekly cooking obligation, but I also like soft, mushy food that doesn’t require a lot of chewing. The dentist has pointed out that my bite is off and that my teeth don’t come together on the left side of my mouth. All my chewing is done on the right side, if I chew at all. People are always astounded at how quickly I eat, and this is probably because I don’t like to chew. I like mashed potatoes, soft breads, soups, puddings, donuts, and other things that melt in my mouth. Plus, I’ve pulled off one too many crowns by eating chewy candies. For my wife’s sake, and to paraphrase Santana, “I need to change my cooking ways.”

Tonight would normally be “Date Night,” and neither of us would have to worry about cooking. Instead, she’s taking a client to The Book of Mormons and I’m meeting a friend at Buffalo Wild Wings to watch an IU Basketball game. Tomorrow night will be “Date Night,” even though we still have a lot of “soggy” ribs left in the refrigerator. I will have Sunday morning’s leftover breakfast sausage for lunch today, and find a special treat for our dog Tally, who’s celebrating her 8th birthday today. Normally, I might walk her down to Starbuck’s, but once again it’s raining here in Portlandia. I did sweep and dust the house this morning, and made an appointment for ZeroreZ to come tomorrow to steam-clean some upholstery, furniture, and floors. I had a few bucks left over after paying off some mounting credit card bills, mostly related to travel, by selling off a portion of my IRA. I’m spending it a lot quicker than it took to save it, but travel is what it’s for, after all. We also made some arrangements to hire a new house-sitter for the pets, since our regular options were not available. It’s just another travel expense when you are pet owners like we are.

I went out and fed the mailbox this morning with some checks to be mailed. I’ve found that an active mailbox is a happy mailbox. It’s the only source of potential treasure that I have, so I want to keep on friendly terms. In the meantime, I’ll watch some of the true adventurers continue to dig for buried treasure on Oak Island, and follow the Knights Templar bloodbath as they search for the Holy Grail. I’m exhausted just thinking about it!

Retirement is not without Hassle: Spend #402

January 22, 2018 / mikeljohnston1 / 0 Comments

Every time I withdraw money from my IRA, I have a deep concern that I’m spending my retirement savings too fast. It doesn’t really matter how much I take out; it still feels like I’m tapping into sacred ground. For years, you save for a rainy day, but if you live in the Northwest every day is rainy. As a result, today was as good as any to pay off holiday credit card bills, pay taxes, and prepare for some upcoming travel. For years, I had done nothing but religiously put money into this account, so it seems counterproductive to now begin to dip into it. It’s only a finite amount of money, but the plan was always to spend it in the first ten years of retirement while we were healthy and travel hungry. After that, we would live on my pension, home equity, social security, and my wife’s 401K, with the majority of those dollars spent in the first ten years of her retirement. By then, I’ll be 80 years old and we won’t be spending $20,000 a year traveling back to Indiana to see family.

I certainly don’t want to admit that I will be tired of traveling by the time I’m 80, but I will have crossed off all the items on my current bucket list. I know that many others will be added, but by that age exploration will evolve into familiarity. I can see myself returning to some of the areas around the world that we explored years prior. It’s hard to imagine what life will be like at that time. Will I be in good health? Will there be money and motivation to travel? Will my running streak be at 23 years? My two current grand kids will be adults and my son will be 56, trying to deal with a 14 year old girl that will be born six months from now. It doesn’t really seem that far away, but the battle of spending now vs. waiting until later continues to weigh on my mind. After all, later may never come, so maybe we need to live for today.

Today includes some vet expenses for Tinker’s ear infection (Pet.Vet.Debt), pending 2017 taxes, spa treatments and shore excursions for an upcoming cruise, airfare/lift tickets for Colorado, airfare for our quarterly trip to Indiana, and ongoing Marriott Vacation Club payments. With this IRA withdrawal, I will zero out my credit card that includes these expenses, put aside some money for my soon to be 3 grand kids education fund (Oregon College Savings Plan), pay off some of my wife’s credit card debts, and shift some dollars to savings for inevitable Oregon and Federal taxes.

After a flurry of travel in February, our first March destination will be Amsterdam and the Anne Frank house. While we were waiting for our dinner reservation over my wife’s weekend, we walked over to the famous Powell’s Bookstore and bought The Diary of a Young Girl, along with Top Ten travel books for Venice, Croatia, Dubrovnik & The Dalmatian Islands, Athens, and the Greek Islands. We ADORE travel, as I emphasized in Post #396 – Anticipating, DOing, and REflecting. Part of the “anticipation” is studying the areas that we plan to see through these books and other resources. This is what we’ve saved for, and as a result, it’s time to spend!

Old Sport Sports: Final Four Memories #400

January 20, 2018 / mikeljohnston1 / 0 Comments

I continue to ease my frustrations with Indiana University basketball by dwelling on the past. I was at an antique show yesterday with a friend and bought a NCAA Final Four lapel pin collection for $20. There were ten pins from the cities that hosted the event between the years1977 and 1986. I recall being at three of these championships, and had I bought a pin at each site I would have spent at least $50, so ownership seemed worth it. There was only one Indiana championship in that 10 year period, and that took place in Philadelphia in 1981, with Isiah Thomas, Randy Wittman, Ted Kitchel, Landon Turner, Steve Risley, Ray Tolbert, Glen Grunwald, and of course Coach Bobby Knight. They lost 9 games that year, but the team seemed to come together late in the season. Thomas and Tolbert were both first round NBA draft choices, while Grunwald and Risley were drafted in later rounds, Wittman, Steve Bouchie, Tony Brown, Jim Thomas, and Landon Turner were drafted in subsequent years, but Turner was permanently paralyzed in an automobile accident that left him confined to a wheelchair, suddenly ending any hopes for an NBA future. The disappointing thing about my pin set is that Indiana won the National Championship the year before and the year after this collection was issued, so I will need to find pins for at least those two years, and some of the other years that I attended.

I went to my first Final Four in nearby Indianapolis back in 1980 at Market Square Arena when Purdue finished third and Louisville cut down the nets. The next year in Philadelphia was IU’s championship, and then the following year I traveled to New Orleans to watch North Carolina and freshman Michael Jordan beat Georgetown and Patrick Ewing. It was the only NCAA championship game to feature three of the NBA 50 Greatest Players (Jordan, Ewing, and James Worthy). The silly third place game had finally ended the year before, otherwise I would have seen Houston’s “Phi Slamma Jamma” play defending champion Louisville. It was indeed a Final Four for the ages! I returned to New Orleans in 1987 to watch IU’s Keith Smart hit “The Shot.” It unfortunately was the fifth and final championship for my Hoosiers in now over 30 years. I then had to watch Duke win it in Indianapolis at the Hoosier Dome in 1991 and again in 1992 in Minneapolis. That frustrating game was IU’s only loss in the opener of a Final Four, as they had won the tournament every time in their five previous appearances. In all honesty, we gave away our prime CBS tickets to the finale and got out of Dodge. It was Blue Devil and Coach K history that I didn’t want to see!

Indianapolis hosted in 2000, as Michigan State won over Florida, after North Carolina and Wisconsin were ousted. A good friend was a Spartan grad and hosted a celebration party where I overdid it on tequila shots. The TV station I worked for had a suite, so I was also involved in entertaining clients. The most memorable thing was that the hypochondriac wife of my boss was desperately trying to get a hold of him, and actually had them contact him through the scoreboard. I remember his name was flashed on the screen along with a message to call home.

Indiana then lost to Maryland in the championship game of 2002 in Atlanta. I was unable to go for some reason, probably because they had lost their tournament vulnerability ten years before. Mike Davis had replaced Bobby Knight that year, and somehow got that team to the championship despite 10 regular season losses and an additional loss in the Big Ten Tournament. They got some revenge on top-ranked Duke that year by upsetting them with in the Sweet Sixteen. They then went on to beat Oklahoma and Coach Kelvin Sampson, who would replace Davis and lead the team into NCAA probation hell. Jared Jeffries, Dane Fife, and Tom Coverdale starred for the Hoosier team that earned the dubious honor of losing the school’s very first NCAA Championship game. IU had won in their previous five appearances, and have not made it back since. Kelvin Sampson was the beginning of the program’s downfall, that experienced a brief surge under Tom Crean, and is now in the hands of Archie Miller. Maybe sometime in the future it will be “Miller Time!” (See Post #35)

In 2006, Indy once again hosted the event, so I was able to attend my 8th Final Four (and 7th Championship game). Florida won the title over UCLA, and we were able to attend all the CBS celebrity events that year. I remember spending a lot of time talking with an up-and-coming unknown named Ray Romano, so the parties were much more memorable than the games. In 2010 it was wife’s Alma mater, Butler, that beat Michigan State but fell short against evil Duke. We then followed Butler to Houston, Texas in 2011, or they followed us. My wife had been transferred to Austin, so coincidentally another Final Four with Butler was within easy driving distance. Unfortunately, the Bulldogs lost again.

I’m now stuck on 10 Final Four appearances in my lifetime, and will be out of the country for this year’s games in San Antonio. Although, it might have been a good excuse to revisit some friends in Austin. As much as I hate to admit it, I hope that Purdue makes the field. After coming home from the antique show and showing off my new pin collection, I watched my inconsistent Hoosiers stumble mightily to the Michigan State Spartans, another team that has the potential to make it to San Antonio. I’m tired of losing, and miss those aspirations of making it to the Final Four, so I’m beginning to lose my hatred of the Boilermakers, and falling back on memories of working with Coach Gene Keady on his weekly televised basketball show. The TV station that I managed for several years in Lafayette, Indiana was the home of the Black & Gold, so I slowly learned to shed some of my bias towards IU’s biggest in-state rival. It’s time to decidedly leap on their bandwagon!

Purdue won the Old Oaken Bucket, what I sometimes call the Toilet Bowl, from IU in football his past season, and went on to win, in dramatic fashion, the lowly Foster Farms clash against Arizona. Back in 2001, while running WLFI-TV, I spared no expense to send a broadcast crew to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, to cover the Boilers and future Hall-of-Fame Quarterback Drew Brees. They lost to Washington, but gave me reason to include a few Boilermaker souvenirs in my sports collection. Since IU hasn’t even come close to being in a Rose Bowl since 1968, it’s been very easy to stray from any IU football allegiance. I’m growing tired of supporting losers like IU, The Colts, and Da’ Bears. I often wish I had gone to grad school, so I’d have other collegiate teams to support. I enjoy watching Butler win, except against IU, and have tried hard to root for the Oregon teams, but haven’t made that passionate connection, as yet. I felt sorry for Drew Brees this past weekend, losing a chance for his Saints to advance, due to a rookie teammate blunder. Instead it was the Minnesota Vikings who will play against the Eagles for a home Super Bowl appearance. They were once a favorite of mine because of the color purple. I once painted my Electric Football team as the Vikings, choosing them for some unknown reason over the Chicago Bears and the Baltimore (now Indianapolis) Colts. I’m jumping on their bandwagon, too. Boiler Up and Go Vikes – I’ll wear your pin!

Retirement is not without Hassles: ADORE #396

January 17, 2018 / mikeljohnston1 / 0 Comments

As I was nearing the #400 milestone on this blog, I happened to notice that I had misnumbered some of my earlier posts, so I had to go back and make adjustments. As it turned out, I had somehow skipped ahead by five, so I’m exactly on my daily posting pace since the first of the year, and not ahead as I originally thought. I number each entry, so I can provide past references to the same or similar subjects, so readers can go back to a specific post and get more information if they desire. I also use these numbers to keep myself honest in the quest to average one post a day.

Today is really the first day this year that I’m not scheduled to be somewhere other than dinner with my wife tonight. I’m totally free all day to catch up on personal matters. My wife admitted she was envious, as she left for the office this morning. I did make our reservations to visit the Anne Frank house in Amsterdam and also began to make arrangements to see some of the Johannes Vermeer paintings, such as “Girl with a Pearl Earring,” during our short visit there in March. The Mauritshuis in The Hague is home to this famous painting and about an hour from Amsterdam, about a 41 minute train ride, so it might be a bit of a stretch of our limited time in the country. From there, we will fly to Venice. It’s exciting to plan for these adventures. I’ve always felt that travel is 50% anticipating, 20% doing, and 30% reflecting, as I continue to research the areas where we hope to visit. This is what retirement is all about!

After our Netherlands layover, we’ll spend a couple of days in Venice, and then board a Viking Cruise ship to ports in Koper, Slovenia; Zadar, Croatia; Dubrovnik, Croatia; Kotor, Montenegro; and Corfu, Olympia, Satorini, and Athens, Greece. I have a lot of studying to do, but the ancient Olympic village is the top priority for me on this particular trip. We’ll book our on-board dining later this week. Also, we’re working on flight arrangements for a family visit to Indianapolis in late February, that will be much less eventful. By the time the first quarter of 2018 is over, I will have spent 31 nights, or one-third of my time on the road, and will undoubtedly be more than ready for a quiet day like today.

The bottom line is that we ADORE travel, as I refer to the acronym for Anticipating, DOing, and REflecting. We DID a lot of traveling in 2017, so there is much to REFLECT on from our amazing experiences together. As we look forward to future travel, there is so much to ANTICIPATE. I suppose we could use the same acronym for the experience of cooking, but my meal last night was not worthy of the word ADORE. It was the messiest meal I’ve ever prepared and there was too much clean-up involved; I didn’t slice the onions properly and they turned to mush; I let the short ribs stew too long in the slow cooker and they were a bit dry; The red wine gravy reduction that could have added some moisture and flavor to the meat had entirely too much onion flavor. I was very disappointed in my effort, however my wife was just glad to have a meal prepared, and was only modesty critical. Her anticipation was high, she tried to enjoy the very rich meal, but upon reflection decided that this recipe was probably not worth repeating. I’m glad tonight is “Date Night,” so somebody else will do the cooking for both of us to ADORE.