I taught my last class today. I give my last final Wednesday. I signed my USM retirement papers today and take them to Jackson tomorrow. I signed my Social Security retirement papers last month. Of course I have been retired from the Air Force for 24 years. I guess you might say that I am:
RETIRED, RETIRED, RETIRED.

I feel that my new life has begun and the burden of responsibility greatly reduced. Let’s see how long it takes me to obligate myself. NOT. I have more things to do than I can possibly get done but the big difference is that I am now working totally for myself. I give myself a big “Huh-Rah“.

Jeanne comes home tomorrow night. She has been gone to Texas for a week to visit and attend a doll show. I have been doing her chores and mine too and it is going to be another busy day. I go to work, I take Kurt to his doctor appointment and then to another appointment, I join the School of Computing faculty at dinner where they plan on roasting me (I hope it is on low heat), and then finally to pick Jeanne up at the Airport at 8:40 (and I hope picking her up is just the beginning of the evening). Why am I telling you this? I don’t have a clue.

If you want to see what’s blooming on the Long Leaf Trace (or just “bike trail” as I usually say) go over to my bentrider.info blog. I am going to resist the urge to post the same thing there and here.

In a recent thread on BROL I told about riding my bike to the office but forgetting my office keys. I thought you might like the following comment I made about preparations for old age.

“For that reason I have started creating automatic habits against older age. For example, before I close a locked door, e.g. house and car, I take the key out of my pocket and hold it in my hand. I do not rely upon thinking it is in my pocket, even if I just handled it. In addition I look behind myself when I leave a room or at the front door after getting the mail. I also have a lot of information online that I can browse to from my iphone. I password protect some and use hints for the more sensitive.”

Life goes on.

Jeanne’s been sick, Kurt’s been sick, and I am now sick. I think they have turned the corner but I have not. Oh, the discomfort of it, the dripping nose, the sore throat, the headache, the inability to think clearly. And the nose piece for my CPAP machine broke and I could not use it last night, I had to set in a chair. Just sleeping in a chair is torture enough but I have to prop my head un-naturally forward to keep my breathing channel open. I felt so bad this morning, and then I went to work. I don’t ever miss work when ill. I left my office at noon to walk over for something to eat, maybe for something cold like a Smoothy or shake, blowing my nose and wiping the whole way. A near brain freeze diminishes the headache. (As I re-read this I see just how unclear my thinking was, but I’m not going to change it now).

While going down the stairs in front of my building I was using the banister for support when a sharp edge cut a large gash in the tip of my thumb. Boy did it bleed. I went into the Dean’s office to tell them about the danger, the rail was off its vertical support and needed repair. It is then when my thumb really started to bleed; they gave me some napkins to wrap around it. I walked half way across campus to the clinic. My thumb started to throb, bless its heart. My nose continued to drip and I continued to wipe. I did not enjoy the walk. At the clinic they told me I needed to go to “Health Works” (a service provided to the University by Forrest General Hospital) and that I may need stitches. They gave me a temporary bandage that stopped the bleeding and I walked back to the office to find someone to meet my class at 2:00; good thing I had the lesson/activity on line. Found someone. Thanks Wayne. Went to the School of Computing office to let them know “what’s up” and to check on the paper work required for “injured on the job”. They said I would normally go to Human Resource to fill it out but that they would take care of it for me and I could come by tomorrow to sign. Thank you ladies. The “Health Works” clinic is over across from the old mall and, so, I would have to drive. They wanted to know if I would be OK. Thanks for carrying, ladies. I walked to my car; I never seem to get a parking place close any more. Throb, throb, this was not fun but I made it OK. (I came to realize how much I used my thumbs. Thank you “other thumb” for filling in.) I had a little trouble finding the clinic in a building of several clinics. I had been told the wrong name but the word “work” was common and I eventually found it, but not before being told it was actually across town; a bad moment but the person asked who I worked for and told me I was in the right place afterall. The 30 minute wait was not bad as such waits go. I rested with my hand on top of my head and that seemed to help the throbbing, which never got really bad, not bad enough to conquer me. They took good care of me. The doctor asked what kind of work I did and then decided not to put stitches in (he prefers not to use them) since, as he put it, “You work with your brain”. I did not add “not today”, but I did tell him I worked with my thumb on the keyboard. Then I said that, however, I could use my other thumb for the space bar. He said he was sure I was smart enough to figure something out. I went home seeking a “poor baby” and then some solitude and, so, I laid down in the bedroom for a little rest. That was a mistake. I fell asleep, the kind of sleep someone with Sleep Apnea has when not on a breathing machine. I keep waking up, kind of, but not enough to actually escape the grasp of my exhaustion. My brain seemed to observe all this from afar, wishing it was somewhere else. After awhile, of unknown duration, I head Jeanne say “I’ll call him gently and if he is awake …”. I never did have lunch, so I got up. Janice, our house guest, fixed the meal. I know Jeanne appreciated that. Thanks Janice. After I joined them she said I looked really bad, much worst than Kurt or Jeanne. I told her what I often say, “Any day above ground is better than any beneath”. However, I said it with a little less conviction than normal. All in all, I’m glad I am alive today but I am also glad the day is over. Now for the night. I wished I had been able to get a new nose piece for the CPAP. In the morning I go to work and I am going to feel like the lab rat that was not lucky enough to be in the control group. Actually, I don’t know how a lab rat on a bad day feels but I am sure it feels really bad. I can just hear one saying to another, “Oh, on, I’m having a really bad day, I feel like Professor Johnsey”.

And then, maybe I’m just a big baby.