Category: POEMS (Page 28 of 30)

I spent some time in the men’s clothing business, while living in Austin, Texas.  It seemed like a good idea, since for most of my business career I was known as a “Dapper Dan.”  I owned hundreds of ties, custom suits, french-cuff shirts, silk pocket scarves, suspenders, and cuff-links – the works!  i loved to get dressed up in the morning, and would usually lay out my clothes the night before. I dressed for success, but by the time I got to Austin, success had unfortunately passed me by.  It’s  actually the time frame that I started thinking about retirement.  Selling men’s clothing pushed me over the edge!

First of all, it was too damn hot in Austin to wear finery.  If I had a business meeting in the downtown area where I worked, I would have to have to leave a half-hour early, duck into some air conditioned lobbies along the way, and arrive early to cool down.  Selling a suit in Austin, Texas was as close to selling swim trunks to Eskimos as one can possibly get!  Most business people dressed casually, with no ties, silver buckles, and cowboy boots.  Attorneys and Bankers were the exception, so if you saw someone in a suit you knew almost exactly what they did for a living.  We also sold a fair amount of tuxedos for the two or three awards events that maintained a tradition of formality.  Bankers, lawyers, and successful entrepreneurs were my clients.

I could dress with the best of them, and show them a few tricks.  If I had a weakness in style, it was my shoes.  I tend to shuffle when I walk, so my shoes always look a bit beat-up.  I spent time at all the shoe shine stands, where they knew me by name, but I never was able to maintain that high-gloss look.  To be honest, I also think there was a side of me that rebelled against shiny shoes.  I wanted to feel comfortable in the business environment without a tie, but dressing up in the morning was like putting on a suit of armor, preparing for battle.  I was not in my element if I wasn’t properly adorned.

It was a long year of selling suits before I finally got a suitable position for my skills.  I was very grateful to get out of the retail business.  There were too many clients that just wouldn’t buy the whole package and had little sense of taste in clothing.  Maybe, they too, were rebelling against the fashion world, with ties that didn’t match and suits that didn’t fit,

Probably the best moment of retirement, was taking all my clothing finery to Goodwill.  I’ve kept a couple of suits, sport coats, and ties for special occasions.  It was the wedding reception that I went to a few days ago, that forced me back into a sport coat.  I did not wear a tie.  I couldn’t help but notice the lack of effort in getting dressed for this event.  In fact, one of the biggest fashion faux pas is brown shoes with a black suit, tuxedo, or slacks.  It reminded me of this poem I wrote a few years ago with thoughts of  Z.Z. Topps’ “Sharp Dressed Man (cue song):”

Tux

All dressed up,

Someplace to go.

I look good,

I just know.

 .

Heads will turn,

Smiles abound.

They’re staring at me,

When I turn around.

 .

I look so grand,

I simply can’t lie.

Crisp, starched white shirt.

Gift wrapped in a bow tie.

 .

Onyx studs,

Cool cuff links.

I look like a million,

Everyone thinks.

 .

Pocket scarf,

Watch on a chain.

Martini in hand,

Feeling no pain.

 .

Black tuxedo,

Satin lapels.

My cologne,

How good it smells.

Tan face,

Manicured nails.

I’m a spectacle,

In top hat and tails.

.

Not a hair out of place,

And none of it missing.

To be at my side,

Women are wishing.

.

Cummerbund,

Stylish Suspenders.

The envy of,

Both genders.

 .

Then I realize.

I missed all the clues,

People are laughing,

At my brown shoes.

 .

copyright 2012 johnstonwrites.com

Every morning when my wife leaves for work, she has suggestions on what I should do with “my time.”  Shes’s my only supervisor now, and I do respect her opinions.  She always asks me what I’m going to do each day, and I try to come with solid, elaborate plans for the day, like I’m reporting to the boss.  She was actually mildly amused when I admitted the other day that I had “no plans.”  It must have been the smile on my face that threw her off her game.  This morning I told her I was going to write, and since she was excited with the poem I wrote yesterday yesterday posted under Old Sport Shorts:  Casey at the Bat revisited, her only suggestion was that I do it outdoors on the back deck rather than in the dark office. Sometimes I feel like she doesn’t think that I have an adult brain and that I’m lost now in a world of free time.  Since there’s no one else to tell me what to do, she now feels it’s her responsibility.  I will roll with the punches.

Whether it was her idea or not, I moved my lap top to the back porch.  The sun is shining and the glare on my screen is almost too much.  I honestly don’t know if I would have thought of it on my own, settling in to the daily routine of my writing.  I like having my other computer sitting next to this one, the T.V. on, and my ear buds tuned to the radio.  I have a problem focusing sometimes, but when I really get into the groove of writing, I hear or see nothing else.  The second computer is set up for Spider Solitaire and comes in handy to research what I’m writing about.  I also don’t get re-targeted through my searches by using it rather than on this particular computer where I do my writing.  I honestly thought that the old Sony Vaio that I bought to establish my original johnstonwrites.com website about 8 years ago would have crashed by now.  It surprisingly is still running smoothly.

The sun feels great and it may get up to eighty degrees today.   Maybe I can start to re-tan some of those areas that have flaked away since leaving the Maui sun?  It’s not quite the same!   No cocktail service, pool, or crashing waves in the background.  Here I’m simply exposed to the neighbors, since we lost our privacy trees in the winds and rain.  The Neighborhood Association took down three trees since their roots were crowding underground services and that left the other two trees exposed to the elements.  We bought some plants and screens to block the neighbor’s views.  Hopefully, they’re all at work today.  The dogs have joined me for a dose of sunshine.  They too, despise the rain and seek the heat.

My laptop overheated, and I’ve been forced to retreat to the sanctity of my dark office until it cools off.  So much for the suggestions from the boss!  I’ll go out there again but in the meantime save my work – I’ve had to do some re-writing from what was lost.  I had the same hassle in Maui and should have learned.  Maybe I don’t have an adult brain!

The dogs took me to Starbucks this morning for their treat.  Everyone had come out of the woodwork, so there was a parade of people and dogs down the street.   I hardly recognized anyone since they weren’t hiding under an umbrella or covered by a rain hood.  I also did my annual check of credit reports this morning, mailed a check to cover my March Madness losses, and made some phone calls.  See, I’ve been busy boss! Tomorrow, I give blood and will do my honey-do list of errands.   Yesterday, I went to the “Silver Sneakers” fitness class.  Does everyone in that class feel that they are the youngest and strongest?  24-Hour Fitness did not seem as busy as on the Monday that I went before, so I also did some weight lifting and shot some hoops (poorly).  I finished the day by cooking an Emeril dish from a recipe that was perhaps a bit too advanced for my skills.   Tonight, we’ll get a much better meal prepared by someone who knows what they’re doing – it’s Date Night!

I would like to take some additional steps to publish some of my work.  I think that “Schwarber at the Bat” has some potential, especially since my wife enjoyed it and is not a baseball fan.  Chicago Cub fans should love the “Mudville and Wrigleyville connection.”  “Casey at the Bat,” when it was published in 1888 appealed to everyone.  Ernest Thayer had the power of the San Francisco Examiner to give it legs with the public.  It’s much like the movie,”Bad News Bears,”  you don’t have to know baseball to enjoy the story.  I’m not much of a student of poetry and many styles are much too deep for me to understand.  I can’t feel the rhythm that makes the writing special, but when I get into the rhythm of writing a poem it just feels right.  This is why poems need to be read aloud.  “A poem is worth a thousand pictures” – see for yourself when you scroll down to some of these prior posts:

Post #1 Retirement is not without Hassles: Practicing for Retirement – “Retirement” poem

Post #8 Retirement is not without Hassles: Preparation and Practice – “Retirement” poem (repeated)

Post #24 Retirement is not without Hassles: Retirement Prayer – “Retirement Prayer” poem

Post #39 Retirement is not without Hassles: Retire-Mint – “Retirement Hassles” poem

I have no real hassles to report, but I’ll let you know when one happens.  Hope you, too, can enjoy the sunshine and this bonus retirement poem that I just found in my collection:

Retire

I’ve spent all my life,

Working for Friday.

Soon every day,

Will be a Saturday.

.

No more Monday’s,

No more Hump Days.

I’m about to enter,

The retirement phase.

.

I saved some money,

Have a company plan.

Will I spend my Saturday’s,

Working on my tan?

.

With any luck,

I’ll have enough.

So cutting back,

Won’t be too tough.

.

So how will I fill,

Each waking day?

Will I be lazy?

And just play.

.

I begin a new life,

Be the boss of me.

There’s a whole world,

Out there to see.

.

Maybe new hobbies?

Volunteer some hours?

More education?

Smell the flowers?

.

Watch more sports?

Write more silly rhyme?

Catch up on reading?

Lose track of time?

.

And I realize,

That there will be.

An occasional bad day,

Where I won’t be free.

.

Because the thing,

That I like alot.

Those good days working,

Can’t beat bad days not.

.

A perpetual weekend,

Or maybe the beginning?

As the years go by,

And my hair keeps thinning.

.

Health matters,

Appointments to keep.

And those concerns,

That won’t let me sleep.

.

But the fact remains,

There’s still a perk.

I won’t have to get up,

And go to work.

.

Copyright May 2015

johnstonwrites.com

I heard on the news that Portland has had 147 days of measurable rain between Oct. 1st and the end of March.   If you do the math over that six month period, it calculates to over 80%!  Over 26 inches if rain fell in that time period – a new historic mark for this region!  WOW!  The rain has become so much apart of our Portland culture that it has seeped into our souls.  For example, this morning I was listening to the radio, and Peter Gabriel’s “Red Rain” was playing as I dodged raindrops on my morning run.  It was followed by “Imagine Dragons” singing “Believer,” with the words, “It rained down like Pain!”  Rain and Pain to me make great poetic partners.

There is an organization in our area called The Rainy Day Blues Society of Oregon – I’m thinking about joining.  I’m sure their preferred taste in music includes the songs: “Stormy Weather,” “Feels Like Rain”, “Come Rain Or Come Shine,” “The Sky Is Crying,” “Standing In The Rain,” “I Get The Blues When It Rains,” “Call It Stormy Monday (But Tuesday Is Just As Bad),” “New Falling Rain Blues,” “Rainy Day,” “The Rain Don’t Fall On Me,” “Some Cold Rainy Day,” “Raining In My Heart,” and “Rain, Rain, Rain,” just to name a few.  For the record, those are all actual titles, and there really is an organization called The Rainy Day Blues Society of Oregon. www.rainydayblues.org

What does this have to do with retirement?  Well, in a few years when my wife joins me in retirement, we’ll have the freedom to move “Somewhere Over The Rainbow,” to a nice, dry, sunny climate.  Fortunately, because I am retired and she has vacation time, we were recently fortunate to escape for 11 glorious days of sunshine, leaving behind the Vitamin D3 and Happy Lamp.  We were both taught as a children back in the Midwest to save for a rainy day, and that made sense given there was more snow and less rain in Indiana.  Had we moved directly from there to here, we probably would be more content in just giving up the snow.  However, having lived in that other weird city, Austin, Texas, for five years, there was little snow or rain, so giving up all that warmth was a little more difficult.  Also, had we followed that advice to save for a rainy day, we would have spent it already here in Portland!

I decided to write my own song about the RAIN, and I’m sure when I finish the word PAIN will come into play.  I wanted to call it “Rainy Day Blues,” but Willie Nelson already made that song popular.  He was also from Texas, so he probably should have been writing more about sunshine.  By the way, in my Google search for “saving for a rainy day,” the questions, “can I spend it now and what should I buy?” were asked by some unrecognized lyricist.  You do have to be careful with copyrighted material when you write.   I don’t have a title yet, but this would be my first verse:

If I  had been,

Saving for a rainy day.

It’d be spent by now,

With more rain on the way.

Maybe I can write a jingle for the Rainy Day Blues Society of Oregon?   Or perhaps I’ll just move back to Texas and establish the Society Of Green Grass Y’all (SOGGY).  After all, ironically there is at least A Rainey Street in Austin and not one in Portland!  In the meantime, I’ll start saving for a “Sunny Day” and be very rich before I spend it all.

I may be retired, which to some people means old, but I’ll never be too old to love my wife and to be excited in her presence.  We just enjoyed 11 days of sunshine together in Maui.  To her it was a vacation but to me just another day of freedom.  While we were both working, we always celebrated mid-week by going to a new restaurant.  We call it Date Night, and some things don’t change even with my retirement.  She is still working, and probably will continue with her career for the next five or six years.  Date Night is how we reconnect, as our lives scatter in different directions every day with the demands of work, family, and home.  Here’s my little tribute to Date Night written several years ago when I was still a working man:

Date Night 

Middle of the week,

Just seemed right.

Schedule a dinner,

Each Wednesday night.

.

Hump Day,

Friday in sight.

Let’s celebrate,

Weekend? Not quite.

.

Break the routine,

Sit side-by-side.

Taste this and that,

From healthy to fried.

.

Hold hands,

Between bites.

There should be,

More Date Nights.

.

A plan is in place,

To try them all.

We’re booked ahead,

Until next fall.

.

We could sit at home,

Watch “Diners and Dives.”

But put some romance,

Back into our lives.

.

Away from work,

Just me and you.

It divides the week,

Exactly in two.

.

The best part of all,

I love who I’m with.

Date Night always ends,

With a special kiss.

.

Though sad it’s over,

We can’t deny.

But when we wake up,

Tomorrow’s Friday.

.

It doesn’t matter,

Where we dine.

It’s time together,

By design.

.

It’s pretty clear,

No one likes Monday,

But with one day to go,

Life’s better on Tuesday.

.

Unlike a birthday,

You don’t wait all year.

It’s finally Wednesday,

And Date Night is here.

.

Copyright 2012 johnstonwrites.com

It must be a good day.  I had written a couple of posts about some insurance hassles I had been dealing with in the transition to retirement. Apparently my former employer had reported an incorrect end date on my health insurance.  I was trying to make a smooth transition from this company plan to my wife’s employer’s plan, as a dependent spouse.  With the wrong date, I was effectively double-insured.  This was causing a lot of confusion in getting my claims paid.  As a result, I made many calls to get this straightened out, including HR and both insurance companies.  It was a nightmare navigating their voice-command phone systems trying to get an actual human being to address my concerns.  Talk about hassles!

Today I feel that all is resolved.  I was effortlessly able to talk with all three parties involved and hopefully will not have any problems going forward.  It was a good start to a Monday, although I remain leary of future hostility – after all they are insurance companies.  I’m looking forward to this evening as the Cubs play their first game at Wrigley Field since winning the World Series last year.  In the meantime, I’m going to my first Senior Fitness class followed by the chiropractor.  I know that sounds bad, but they are not connected.  They just happen to be in the same neighborhood.  The pharmacy also just called with a prescription to pick up – just another reminder of my age.

I was pleased that Sergio Garcia won the Masters yesterday.  We then watched the Denzel Washington movie, “Fences” to cap off the evening.  It clearly showed why Viola Davis won an Oscar for her performance.  Denzel plays an unlikable character that is bitter and grumpy. It was the way I felt last week dealing with the insurance hassles.  Today calls for some sunshine, so I should be in great spirits.  I’ll be ordering some plantation shutters and some tickets to Moulin Rouge, the two main items on my honey-do list.

How about a poem to start the week?  It’s something I wrote many years ago when life was more of a roller coaster.  Fortunately, that’s not the case today.  I’m as happy in retirement as I’ve ever been!

Blessed to Depressed

I took a sip

From my golden cup,

Savored the taste,

Life was looking up.

.

Money to burn,

I had it all.

That was before,

I took a fall.

.

Now I’m down,

Each day’s a chore.

There’s no opportunity,

Knocking at my door.

.

I’m a bit lost,

No place to turn.

Hidden within,

Some lesson to learn?

.

Just show me,

Which way to go.

Guide me forward,

A spiritual tow.

.

Blessed to Depressed,

Glad now sad.

Life was good,

Then turned bad.

.

Blessed to Depressed,

Trump to dump.

The road was smooth,

Now one big bump.

.

Blessed to Depressed

Is this some kind of test?

Just give me back,

Some of life’s zest.

.

Blessed to Depressed,

Top to flop.

When will the sadness,

Finally stop.

.

Elated now deflated,

My glow on low.

A lifetime of effort,

With little to show.

.

Blessed To Depressed,

Show me a sign.

That all I’ve lost,

Will once again by mine.

.

Copyright March 2010

Johnstonwrites.com

They say these are the Golden years, but you may need a golden goose.   Expenses and challenges pop up unexpectedly, regardless of how well you plan.  You’ve faced this your entire life, but now you’ve got more time to face them.  At the same time, you’ve also probably got less money to deal with them, unless you have your own mint.  Medical bills, dental bills, household bills, automobile bills are lurking.  Stay away from the mailbox.

Time is now our greatest asset.  However, time moves much faster the older we get.  I also don’t need to remind you that life can end at any moment, and the odds increase with age.  So, worry less about the hassles and focus more on enjoying the moment.  You may not even have to pay that bill if you’re gone tomorrow – so take your time.

Enjoy this little ditty for starters:

Retirement Hassles

.

In thinking retirement,

You may dream castles.

But you’ll find,

It’s not without hassles.

.

There’s no time to wonder,

What to do?

Something will break,

So go find the  glue.

.

Or if there’s a lull,

Or something  you missed.

Make a quick check,

Of your honey-do-list.

.

Run some errands,

Maybe  reorganize?

Get rid of stuff,

No longer your size.

.

Write a blog,

Or play the guitar.

You might even,

Go to a bar.

.

Learn to dance,

Ride a bike.

Do some cooking,

Or take a hike.

.

Feed the dogs,

Pet the cat.

Go for a run,

So you don’t get fat.

.

Play a game,

Walk, walk, walk.

Or get on the phone,

And just talk.

.

Read a book,

Watch a movie.

Isn’t retirement,

Kinda Groovy?

.

It all sounds,

Like a dream.

But the gods,

Have a scheme.

.

Smell the roses,

Enjoy a nap.

But while you relax,

They may set a trap:

.

“Throw them a curve,

Upset their day.

Give them a challenge,

That gets in the way.”

.

“Make it frustrating,

Like a day at work.

Who said retirement,

Was a perk?”

.

A flat tire?

A tooth ache?

“Make them suffer,

For heaven’s sake.”

.

You can take hassles,

You’ve got a strong back.

“Just please don’t give me,

A heart attack.”

.

Johnstonwrites.com copyright 2017