Ignorance is bliss. And my cable company is making sure I stay that way for the next couple of weeks. In a previous post, I wrote about watching scads of TV while my wife was away on a trip. I also made reference to Newton Minnow's 1961 speech to the National Association of Broadcasters where he famously referred to television programming as … Continue reading Unceremonious Offerings
Author: snakesinthegrass2014
This is a blog ostensibly about my taking early retirement after a 30+ year career as a law librarian. Since starting the blog in 2014, I have expanded the original scope from financial issues (i.e. pension, retirement savings, social security, divorce, alimony) to discussions of current events, culture, and primarily life's comical ironies.
I always try to return the focus to those serious issues that are germain to seniors, but my strong need for displays of irreverence and imbecility are often more dominant. So do join me as I encounter the highs, lows, pitfalls, and other challenges that will present themselves as we settle early into what I'm still told are the GOLDEN YEARS.
Your comments are not only welcomed but encouraged. Thanks for stopping by!
In Solidarity
This blog is ostensibly about my experiences related to early retirement. I also enjoy exploring the imbecilic and absurdities of daily life so that we can all share in an occasional laugh. Today I was all set to post something that falls into the latter category. However, suddenly I'm not in a laughing mood. The tragic … Continue reading In Solidarity
When The Cat’s Away
As I write this I am alone for the weekend. Gorgeous is away on a trip to visit her daughter. There is also a second trip scheduled for later this month when she'll stay with a close friend and visit her sister. Consequently, these getaways of hers become scheduled "bachelor" times for me. They are, if you will, my … Continue reading When The Cat’s Away
Aha! I Knew There Was a Reason I Worked in Public Service
Any career fantasy I've ever had in my life has always been firmly planted in Walter Mitty-type pipe dreams. At various times I've been a TV news anchor, a singer in a band, or an astronaut. These are reveries into which I would escape during boring meetings, long car trips, or sitting in an examining room waiting for … Continue reading Aha! I Knew There Was a Reason I Worked in Public Service
Quaint Partisan Hindsight: Surviving the Election Season
I recently finished Gore Vidal's last memoir, Point to Point Navigation (2006 Vintage International). It was a disappointing read, written by someone who at the end of his life was bitter about nearly everything. Although in fact a very thin book, it took me weeks to complete. My own deliberate stubbornness in having to finish something that … Continue reading Quaint Partisan Hindsight: Surviving the Election Season
Playing Catch Up
Recently a former co-worker and I were discussing our respective retirement incomes. She ended one of her emails to me quoting the old adage about money not buying happiness. And she's right, it certainly cannot. But her mentioning this familiar phrase did get me to think about how the choices we make in search of happiness … Continue reading Playing Catch Up
Naked and Exposed
It was more or less like those dreams that we all occasionally get from time to time. I felt vulnerable and foolish. If the eyes of others weren't permanently fixated on my pitiful self in morbid fascination, then they must have been savvy enough to look away quickly as I glanced around the room at them in silent horror. … Continue reading Naked and Exposed
Powdering My Nose
A former co-worker and I were regular afternoon coffee companions back during my working years (Hi, H). At roughly the same time each day, one of us would launch an informal summons via the office chat application to query if it was convenient to make our daily trek to Starbucks. Invariably, though, my friend would always need just a little … Continue reading Powdering My Nose
GratiTuesday: Public Libraries
Janis writes a wonderful ode to the public library on her equally wonderful "Retirementally Challenged" blog. I couldn't say it any better, though since I have made myself the Milton Berle of blog post intellectual property theft, I probably will hijack this at some future point too. Well done, Janis!
Tears in My Beers
In the very back of our refrigerator rests an untouched six-pack of Michelob. It was purchased several weeks ago for a visiting friend whose drink of choice is beer. That friend decided not to drink alcohol during her visit, however. So there the beer sits behind a jar of Spanish queen garlic-stuffed olives and a package of fresh … Continue reading Tears in My Beers
Snakes in the Grass 
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