Retired-Kayaker

Tuesday was spent at the doctor’s office with my dad, following up on his broken nose. After examining him, the doctor decided not to do anything since he could still breathe through it without any difficulty. Dad actually broke his nose when he was a kid, so it was already a little crooked. I guess he’s had decades to get used to a nose that doesn’t point due north. My plans to go fishing on…

Today started out busy, and judging by my calendar, it’s only the beginning. I had two doctor appointments today—one at 10:00 a.m. and another at 3:00 p.m. My first stop was my oncologist’s office for an iron infusion. They usually take about two hours, so I figured I’d have plenty of time to get home, eat lunch, and make it to my physical therapy appointment. Well… that was the plan. The…

I’m 62 years old, and until now, I’ve never really felt like I’d been discriminated against because of my age. I’ve been with the same banking institution for more than twenty years and have never had to pay a monthly service fee. The fees have always existed—I just never found myself in a situation where they applied to me. When I started working for my last employer back in 1986, the bank was…

It doesn’t matter how carefully you make your plans—one phone call from one of your parents can change everything in the blink of an eye. I had planned on going fishing today. It had already been a challenge just getting ready. I had a meeting Thursday night, so I wasn’t able to load my kayak until I got home late. I loaded everything else beforehand, leaving only the kayak for when I…

My cat Sophia must have decided I needed the extra rest because she let me sleep until 6:30 this morning—an hour later than my usual wake-up call. I don’t know what got into her, but I’m not about to question a miracle. My wife had a physical therapy appointment today, so I didn’t get much accomplished before it was time to chauffeur her to the appointment at 11:00. While she was with her…

Going to the shoe store has become one of my worst nightmares. Not everyone sells the shoes in the width that I need. In fact, there are only two stores in the Birmingham metro area that sell shoes in my size. For those who are new here, I have Charcot. Charcot is a condition that makes my bones brittle. Two years ago, I unknowingly broke my right foot. It couldn’t be a normal break; it had to…

Yesterday I got off to a later start than I had planned. I rolled up to my parents’ house a few minutes before 9:00 a.m. My goal had been to get there by 8:00, but I just couldn’t get moving. By the time I had eaten breakfast and made my second round of coffee, I was already running behind. When I arrived, I didn’t see my parents’ car. Sometimes they park inside the garage, but most of the time…

It’s been a few days since my last post, and it’s been a busy few days. You never realize how much you depend on something until you suddenly don’t have it. Since my wife’s car is still with my daughter, we’re down to just one vehicle. That means choices have to be made, schedules have to be adjusted, and everything takes a little more planning. My daughter is still looking for another car, but…

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! I took advantage of the few hours I had available to go fishing Saturday morning. I didn’t invite my friend Rick on this trip because I wasn’t sure how long my back would hold up. Since the ablation, I haven’t been able to sit in my kayak for very long before the pain starts bothering me. I launched on the river around 5:30 a.m., and by 10:30 I was ready…

Today is our 35th wedding anniversary. Time has really flown by. It doesn’t seem possible that we’ve been married that long. We spent the afternoon watching Toy Story 5. That’s what my wife wanted to see, and I’m glad we did. If you haven’t seen it yet, it’s well worth it. It has a great message for parents. I won’t give away any spoilers, so you’ll just have to see it for yourself to understand…

It’s been a few days since my last entry. Between other family matters and life’s daily responsibilities, I’ve been too busy to sit down and write. I did get the opportunity to go fishing for a couple of hours last Thursday, but I didn’t have much luck. I only caught two fish before my back started hurting, forcing me to cut my trip short. Before heading out to fish, I had taken the time on…

One of the responsibilities of being a homeowner is taking care of your yard. When we first moved into this neighborhood, our house had never been lived in. We were the first owners, and everything was brand new. The landscapers had just laid the sod and planted bushes along the side of the house. For years, we had one of the best-looking yards on the street. I took a lot of pride in it, and it…

As I mentioned in my last post, the church I attend is large with a seating capacity of around 2,500 people. I’ve been going to church on and off my entire life, and before coming here about three years ago, the largest church I had ever attended had maybe 100 members. I absolutely love this church. One of the things I enjoy most is that there is always something going on. Case in point: our…

Happy Father’s Day! I hope all you dads had a great day. My family and I spent the first part of our day at church, where our pastor of 40 years preached his final sermon. It was a bittersweet day for thousands of people. Yes, I said thousands. The sanctuary seats 2,500 people, and during the first service, people stood along the walls and filled the overflow chapel. After church, we came home…

I was under the weather yesterday, and honestly, I’m still not quite up to par today. As a result, I didn’t get much done in the garage. I’m not sure if my illness was related to the weather or not, but it rained here most of the day. Whatever the cause, I simply didn’t feel like doing much of anything. The heaviest rainfall came around 4:00 yesterday afternoon. My daughter was on her way home…

There’s a tropical depression near Galveston, Texas, and it’s wreaking havoc on the weather forecasts in my area. Today marks the second day this week that rain was predicted, yet the sun has been shining nearly all day. That’s also two days this week that I could have gone fishing. Instead, I spent most of my day in the garage. I managed to clean off one of my workbenches and rearrange the…