My mother is a political junkie of the Democratic sort. During this election season she talked of little else; she could spend all day watching “her guys” like Chris Matthews and other left-leaning talking heads. The presidential debates were 12-hour marathons for her as she stayed up all night, switching stations, seeing what Fox was saying, checking out CNN, and then back again to her…
In one of my earlier columns, I wrote about retirement and all the issues, questions and decisions I was facing as a brand spanking newly retired person. I’m still there, but really enjoyed some of the replies I got that offered advice and insight into similar personal experiences. Harry Roosevelt replied on line about the fulfilling things his “active” retirement has allowed him to do,…
The first time I visited the Willamette Valley of Oregon was on a business trip about 10 years ago. Some of you might not consider touring wineries and tasting wines all day as “business,” but we were travelling with eight members of our winery staff, trying to broaden their exposure to the whole wide world of wine. At the time, Oregon was the new frontier…
Today I’m responding, in a way, to a previous article on traveling. It was actually a response to my article on traveling that got me thinking. A response that came to me personally, rather than Chadds Ford Live, because, in the words of the reader, “I wanted to respond to you on-line but I couldn’t get in because I couldn’t remember my pass code.” Boy…
Last month my son Bayen left for Bend, Ore. Not on vacation, but for a wonderful new job opportunity, to live his life far away from us — about 3,000 miles away. I am so happy for him. I am so sad. I hope he is excited about this new adventure. I hope he is a little bit scared. Happy because he is strong, independent,…
So we had some old friends over to visit for a few days last week and at one point Wife says to me, “You’re so lucky…” Now I hate anything that starts with “You’re so lucky…” because it usually ends up with me saying, “Yes, and the harder I work, the luckier I get.” But that’s not what she meant. What Wife actually said was,…
I remember clearly that it was a Tuesday morning and we were sitting in the kitchen, being interviewed for an article about the new mania for sweet wines. Things were rolling along and Eric told a story about one of our early experiences at Chaddsford Winery, somewhere along 25 years ago. It was a funny story that provoked smiles all around, but it wasn’t true.…
Recently I retired. Or “rewired.” Left. Moved on. Changed. Or something like that. In reality, I don’t know what to call it, because it doesn’t feel like the retirement of my parents that seemed so simple. You reached 62. You quit your job. You signed up for Social Security and moved into the sunset years. You owned your home, you stayed put and spent more…
Today I am thinking about travelling. Or not. Growing up in the outskirts of Pittsburgh, no one I knew talked much about travelling. It was work. Go to church. Cut the grass. Take care of the kids (and the older generation in those days before assisted living). Maybe we’d take a trip to a state park or nearby lake in the summer, but most vacations…