It’s Saturday, another day off! That’s really what retirement is like, lots of days off. It’s not very stimulating. My wife tells me ‘I need a hobby’. I’ve tried several hobbies. I wasn’t very good at any of them. I tried making jewelry. It all looked pretty much the same. I never got good at putting the clasps on. I discovered that without a clasp everything would fall apart. I gave away my jewelry kit.
I ventured into art. I had last flunked art in the 3rd grade. I thought maybe somehow I would have developed the artistic touch now that I’m older and wiser. I hadn’t. I learned art from a book I purchased when I was 10. You started out using squares and rectangles to begin your drawing. I liked cubes the best. My problem was that all my drawings looked like cubes. I made a horse. My horse was a series of cubes. It was my ‘cubest period’. That is how my niece, Mary described it. I was humiliated! I never progressed. It was even worse now. I couldn’t even make a cube. I quit.
I tried volunteering at our local hospital, but found most of the other volunteers were really boring and disorganized old people. The woman in charge of my volunteer group called a meeting. She had no concept of conducting a meeting. She had no agenda. She didn’t know what the purpose of the meeting was. A meeting she had called. I felt so bad for her I was afraid to walk out. By her age and feebleness I was afraid she’d ‘stroke out’. I actually tried to help her, but the people just stared at me. I found all of them clueless. They apparently liked the way she ‘ran a meeting’.
I keep telling myself I’ll never retire. But why is Monday thru Friday pretty much the same as weekends. I now call myself semi-retired. This is a nice way of saying I’m not really retired but I don’t have much to do today. I’m sorta like Seinfeld. I’m a show about nothing, but not nearly as funny. They say laughter is the best medicine. This is true. Now when I have a doctor’s appointment I chuckle and cancel it.
I find I count the days till I have something stimulating to do. I keep trying to move up the day we’ll leave for Florida. We don’t usually leave till mid January. The pre-planning is very important. Leaving for FL involves getting our 31 foot trailer out of storage and getting it checked over. It requires artful packing of supplies (food). You must triple check the list of clothing, grill, chairs, TV’s, radios, flashlights, chargers, phones, computer, wiring, truck maintenance, reading glasses, folding bike, ladders, hitch, tools, and this is only the beginning. I like to start planning just prior to Thanksgiving. That may seem a little early, but you’ll understand when YOU are semi-retired. Planning has become a hobby.
We like to set up for the winter in the Panhandle of Florida. Navarre, FL to be exact. The only problem with the Panhandle is that it isn’t really warm this time of year. For instance it’s 28 degrees here this morning. Navare is 32 degrees this morning. It doesn’t start warming up in the Panhandle till February. However, it never snows in the Panhandle. This is good because we never take a shovel.
My wife tells me not to complain. Many people have things a lot worse. This is probably true, but I try to avoid them. I don’t want to be depressed. I’m beginning to think complaining has become a hobby with me. I’m very good at it. I always say when you’re good at something, pursue it. I’m thinking of a book, The Art of Creative Complaining. I’ll let you know when it hits the bookstores.
Jim Doyle
Nov. 28, 2009
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
HUCKABEE'S SIXTY CITY BOOK TOUR
Mike Huckabee has a new book just released. It’s called A Simple Christmas. Mike is on a 60 city book signing tour. Today he was at the University of Notre Dame bookstore. He was scheduled to sign books from 2 till 3 p.m. I arrived at the bookstore at 1:30 and stopped at the Starbucks for a cup of coffee before lining up to get my book signed. I didn’t actually buy his new book, but rather one he wrote in 2008. Do the Right Thing is a book I’ve been wanting to read.
I was sitting at Starbucks. It was 1:40 p.m. when Mike Huckabee walked through Starbucks on his way to the designated book signing area. When I saw him, he smiled and I stood to shake hands. We shook hands and I simply said, Jim Doyle. He said it was a pleasure to meet me and proceeded to the signing area. He had decided to start early. I decided I should probably get in line. Even though I arrived early I found myself in a line of about 100. The bookstore had created a ‘zig zag’ configuration much like amusement parks have leading up to a particular ride. They did this by hanging chain between aisles of books. I finally found the end of the line and slowly began moving up.
You meet some interesting people in a line like this. Since it took me about ten minutes to get to where Mike was signing books, I struck up a conversation with a guy in front of me and a woman behind. The guy is the owner of a small business and the woman is an administrative assistant at a local bank. They were both obviously Mike Huckabee fans. Why else would we have been in line to get his signature in a book we had just purchased? The man had both Mike’s books and a copy of Sarah Palin’s new book, Going Rogue. The woman had only Mike’s new book, A Simple Christmas. They are both hoping Mike runs for President in 2012. I told them I felt it would depend on Obama’s first term. If by some chance Obama looks like a sure thing for a 2nd term, I doubted Huckabee would run. If Obama’s first term goes down in flames, I felt there was a good chance Huckabee would enter the republican primaries, win, and run against the incumbent. The small business owner is not happy with Obama. He's especially unhappy with Obama's governmental takover of the healthcare system. We decided we have no clue about Sarah. The one thing we did decide is that she would not be running for Alaska Governor!
I finally got close enough to take Mike’s picture with my cell phone. They couldn’t accomodate pictures of any of us with Mike. When I arrived at his desk with my book in hand, Huckabee said, “hi Jim, we meet again”. I kid you not. Needless to say I was impressed. I handed Mike my business card and told him that if he decided to run, I would love to work on his campaign. He told me that if he chose to run he would certainly be in touch. I believe he will contact me if in fact he chooses to run in the primaries. To work on a campaign at the national level would be a real treat. We’ll see what happens.
After I walked away I checked on the line. There were still more people in line than were in line when I lined up. Between the 60 cities tour, and of course his weekly TV show, he’s getting to be quite well known throughout the U.S. He certainly was little known when he jumped into the 2008 primaries. I think he’d be a great President. I hope the majority of voters feel the same way. Mike is articulate, has a great sense of humor and is adverse to putting a "spin" on all of his statements. If he is wrong he admits it and learns from his mistakes. His mantra is “bringing common sense back to America”. God knows we could use a little of that.
jim doyle
doyle262@gmail.com
I was sitting at Starbucks. It was 1:40 p.m. when Mike Huckabee walked through Starbucks on his way to the designated book signing area. When I saw him, he smiled and I stood to shake hands. We shook hands and I simply said, Jim Doyle. He said it was a pleasure to meet me and proceeded to the signing area. He had decided to start early. I decided I should probably get in line. Even though I arrived early I found myself in a line of about 100. The bookstore had created a ‘zig zag’ configuration much like amusement parks have leading up to a particular ride. They did this by hanging chain between aisles of books. I finally found the end of the line and slowly began moving up.
You meet some interesting people in a line like this. Since it took me about ten minutes to get to where Mike was signing books, I struck up a conversation with a guy in front of me and a woman behind. The guy is the owner of a small business and the woman is an administrative assistant at a local bank. They were both obviously Mike Huckabee fans. Why else would we have been in line to get his signature in a book we had just purchased? The man had both Mike’s books and a copy of Sarah Palin’s new book, Going Rogue. The woman had only Mike’s new book, A Simple Christmas. They are both hoping Mike runs for President in 2012. I told them I felt it would depend on Obama’s first term. If by some chance Obama looks like a sure thing for a 2nd term, I doubted Huckabee would run. If Obama’s first term goes down in flames, I felt there was a good chance Huckabee would enter the republican primaries, win, and run against the incumbent. The small business owner is not happy with Obama. He's especially unhappy with Obama's governmental takover of the healthcare system. We decided we have no clue about Sarah. The one thing we did decide is that she would not be running for Alaska Governor!
I finally got close enough to take Mike’s picture with my cell phone. They couldn’t accomodate pictures of any of us with Mike. When I arrived at his desk with my book in hand, Huckabee said, “hi Jim, we meet again”. I kid you not. Needless to say I was impressed. I handed Mike my business card and told him that if he decided to run, I would love to work on his campaign. He told me that if he chose to run he would certainly be in touch. I believe he will contact me if in fact he chooses to run in the primaries. To work on a campaign at the national level would be a real treat. We’ll see what happens.
After I walked away I checked on the line. There were still more people in line than were in line when I lined up. Between the 60 cities tour, and of course his weekly TV show, he’s getting to be quite well known throughout the U.S. He certainly was little known when he jumped into the 2008 primaries. I think he’d be a great President. I hope the majority of voters feel the same way. Mike is articulate, has a great sense of humor and is adverse to putting a "spin" on all of his statements. If he is wrong he admits it and learns from his mistakes. His mantra is “bringing common sense back to America”. God knows we could use a little of that.
jim doyle
doyle262@gmail.com
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
WHAT'S UP WITH THIS?
Is it just me, or has packaging becoming more and more 'user unfriendly'? My wife would tell you opening packaging is not my strong suit. She might even tell you she has yet to find my strong suit. No, she wouldn't say that, would she? Anyway, items that have that very attractive packaging with the see-through plastic have been known to take me up to a half hour to open. By the time I get to the product, I'm half tempted to return it for lack of interest. The other day I bought some clever electronic gadget that came sealed in one of those attractive see-through plastic packages. I used a knife, a scissors, and came very close to using a match to melt away the packaging. It's frustrating to say the least. The other drawback is there is no way to actually get a good look at the product. You can see what they choose to show you through the plastic, but you certainly can't see the sides or bottom. Not that long ago these products would have been in a bin with maybe a twisty to keep them from tangling, but you could touch and feel and even see what you were buying. And, when you got it home you could actually use it the same day!
Television commercials are taking up more and more of our time. A thirty minute TV show is actually only eighteen minutes long. The rest of the time is an endless parade of commercials. Many of these are commercials for upcoming TV shows, the other half are repetitious and normally idiotic product commercials. Most of the products promoted are probably packaged in that wonderful see-through plastic. I smell a "frustration conspiracy". There are only a few TV shows I try not to miss. These would include American Idol, So You Think You Can Dance and Law And Order. So You Think You Can Dance now has a series of commercials after each couple has danced. I counted fourteen commercials during one commercial break last night. The one hour show was only thirty-five minutes long. Of course I watch football; Notre Dame football in particular. It's getting so ND football, when they are at home and televised on NBC, have a commercial every chance they get. An injury (commercial), a review of a play (commercial), a timeout (many commercials). It's far worse when you're at the game and you really notice how many "TV timeouts" are called. At least when you're at home you can take a walk, but when you are at the game, you're pretty much stuck in your seat. I have often reverted to simply listening to ND on the radio. I like the announcers better anyway and their commercials are far fewer.
And how about the choices we have today. Just a few too many I think. Cereal is just unbelievable. I haven't counted, but there must be fifty varieties of cereal. I remember when there were only Wheaties, Corn Flakes and Cheerios. Not having other choices made you appreciate what you had. We didn't know any better. We assumed that would be it. The problems arise when you have kids and they all like something different. I saw a woman at the supermarket yesterday who had twelve boxes of cereal. It looked like a variety of brands. I could only feel sympathy. I'm a firm believer that half the insanity in the world today is brought on by far too many choices. I remember when Gillette and Schick had one type of blade and package size; now I can't even remember which type of Gillette blade I use; or is Schick? Maybe it's just me.
jim doyle
doyle262@gmail.com
Television commercials are taking up more and more of our time. A thirty minute TV show is actually only eighteen minutes long. The rest of the time is an endless parade of commercials. Many of these are commercials for upcoming TV shows, the other half are repetitious and normally idiotic product commercials. Most of the products promoted are probably packaged in that wonderful see-through plastic. I smell a "frustration conspiracy". There are only a few TV shows I try not to miss. These would include American Idol, So You Think You Can Dance and Law And Order. So You Think You Can Dance now has a series of commercials after each couple has danced. I counted fourteen commercials during one commercial break last night. The one hour show was only thirty-five minutes long. Of course I watch football; Notre Dame football in particular. It's getting so ND football, when they are at home and televised on NBC, have a commercial every chance they get. An injury (commercial), a review of a play (commercial), a timeout (many commercials). It's far worse when you're at the game and you really notice how many "TV timeouts" are called. At least when you're at home you can take a walk, but when you are at the game, you're pretty much stuck in your seat. I have often reverted to simply listening to ND on the radio. I like the announcers better anyway and their commercials are far fewer.
And how about the choices we have today. Just a few too many I think. Cereal is just unbelievable. I haven't counted, but there must be fifty varieties of cereal. I remember when there were only Wheaties, Corn Flakes and Cheerios. Not having other choices made you appreciate what you had. We didn't know any better. We assumed that would be it. The problems arise when you have kids and they all like something different. I saw a woman at the supermarket yesterday who had twelve boxes of cereal. It looked like a variety of brands. I could only feel sympathy. I'm a firm believer that half the insanity in the world today is brought on by far too many choices. I remember when Gillette and Schick had one type of blade and package size; now I can't even remember which type of Gillette blade I use; or is Schick? Maybe it's just me.
jim doyle
doyle262@gmail.com
Monday, November 9, 2009
RANDOM THOUGHTS
The leaves just keep on coming. The more we blow and rake the more they fall. It seems like a plot to frustrate. I'm beginning to believe the trees watch us raking and laugh. They know once we are done, they will begin to rain more of their brown and crisp litter upon us. Last year the first snow caught us by surprise and left us with some leaf piles that could no longer be found. This year is quite different. We've actually had some sunny and warm days to move the piles before the snow piles up. The last few days have been a delightful "Indian Summer" (pardon the apolitical correctness). The temp yesterday rose to 66 degrees!
Today we're taking a "family trip" to the Four Winds Casino. That statement was rather oxymoronic. Family trips usually allow for more typical family activities, but when you have an "old family" a trip to a casino isn't all that atypical, I guess.
I'm starting to get excited about heading south. We're planning to return to Navarre, FL in the Panhandle, but not until January. We liked the Emerald Beach RV Resort where we stayed last year. We're also excited to see our friends from last year like Jeff and Diane from IL. There are several other couples who are planning to return this year. I certainly hope we have better luck with our truck than we had last year. Some of you may recall we were forced to spend an extra month due to Chrysler's nationwide backorder on the part we needed. Emerald Beach was a beautiful place to be "stuck", but the additional cost made the added month a little less fun.
I've worked for a couple clients during 2009. One of them, Center Fresh Eggs located in Sioux Center Iowa has booked me twice this year and told me they'd like me back sometime before the end of the year. They are a great group of people, and they pay me within two weeks of my sending the invoice! This is fabulous turnaround. My other BIG assignment is a two hour speech on DEVELOPING YOUR FUTURE LEADERSHIP which I'll deliver in February to an international organization's annual meeting in Witchita, KS. They have told me to expect an audience of 500! If any of you have a working knowledge of Power Point or Google's Presentation, let me know. With an audience this large I'm going to be forced to use one of these formats.
And now for my quote of the day: "THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GENIUS AND STUPIDITY IS THAT GENIUS HAS IT LIMITS".
jim doyle
doyle262@gmail.com
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