How to fill time in retirement

Today is the last day of April. I cannot believe how fast the month passed me by but I meant to do some spring cleaning on the computer. Here is some of the clutter and other things I have shelved for future reference and amusement. First, a few photographs I collected from where I live in Florida. The first is of the manatees gathering near Desoto Park in Satellite Beach when the weather gets near freezing. I have taken many photos but not from this perspective. I guess I need to get me a drone. When I bought my current house in Eau Gallie back in 1984, my job with Ensco was still located beachside in Indian Harbour Beach. I would have to cross the Eau Gallie Causeway to get to work, but back then it was still a swing bridge that opened every half hour for boats to pass through on the Indian River Lagoon. I had to time it right to get to work in time and not be stopped by the boat traffic. The bridge is now high enough for boats to pass under it. Here are a few old photos I found onli...

 In 2022, I continued my reading list. As I mentioned in my last post about reading, I have also started to read the plays of Shakespeare. That too was continued in the first quarter, but at a slower rate. Here is what I have been reading and my thoughts about each book or play. Unbroken Written by Laura Hillenbrand and published in 2010. It is a non-fiction biography of World War II veteran Louis Zamperini. I gave the book a 3.5 (Great to Excellent). It's a book I own for a while that I have been meaning to read. In 2014 it was made into a movie. This movie was recently on TV and is probably what inspired me to read the book. I have not seen the movie yet. The book spent four years on the New York Times best seller list, 5th longest ever for a non-fiction book. If you are interested in this type of book I highly recommend it. La Belle Sauvage The Secret Commonwealth Both of these books were written by Philip Pullman. La Belle Sauvage was published in 2017 and The Secret Com...

Over the last week or so, I have learned about losing two friends from my past, but in the same period I had the pleasure of reuniting with six people. I am not trying to keep score or anything (although my math background loves to add up things), but making the point that it is important to reunite with people before they leave us for good.  The first lost I heard about was an old Vermont friend who died from an accident at work. He had been living in Maine but I had seen him a few times while visiting Vermont. His name was Alan Pratt and he was in the same class as my brother Tom, graduating MUHS back in 1973. Alan was a natural athlete and excelled at football, basketball, and baseball. I had the privilege of playing baseball with him in HS. Like most athletes, golf becomes a passion later in his life. Here is Alan getting a bucket of balls for his round at Neshobe. I did not say he was very good at golf. Boy, do I look good in the window! Alan was a very gregarious guy. He was ...