thefouramigosblog

During my years working, I had several careers. And I actually loved most of them.

But for the past 10 years I have worked at my favorite. Retirement. And more specifically, traveling in retirement.

Many countries. Many cultures. Now that’s life.

When you are on a cruise there are live performances day and night. From a band playing around the pool during the day to a main stage act at night, you are never without a live show.

Last night we saw Mikey out of Australia who combined the music of the 50s with music of the 80s and gave it a twist. Very entertaining and fun!

The night before the ship’s singers and dancers performed a show called Bravo. Beautiful music from Broadway plays. One of the players performed her own show the other afternoon.

The entertainment is free and that’s one of the reasons why cruises are so popular!

A few years ago my husband and I moved to South Florida. I’m originally from New York and he’s from Maine. We met and married in Connecticut and spent over 25 years in South Carolina.

We lived on 2-1/2 acres and had a big house and he had a workshop. Now we have a bunker in a 55 community. We love to travel so that’s why the downsize.

So what does that have to do with community involvement? Well less than a year in our new home I signed up to run on the board of directors and won.

Now I do have a community I am involved in. I work on making sure neighbors know who their neighbors are. I check on people if I don’t see them. Since Florida is God’s waiting room you never know.

I answer complaints and help those who need help. I organize hurricane help for those who need it. So basically I try to do my best in my neighborhood. Oh yes and I make their voices heard at board meetings.

And in general I tend to give up my seat if someone is frail and obviously needs to sit, or do any countless things to help out when I can.

I also lend an ear when someone is facing a problem or is just having a difficult day.

Stopping to chat with people and asking about their day may not sound like much but it connects people to people and sometimes that’s enough to put a smile on someones’s face.

I love primates and would really like to spend time getting up close and personal. The reason only a day, I’d have a hard time with them being confined.

I’m not much of a zoo person. Some are better than others. It gives people the opportunity to see wildlife without having to go far.

I prefer to see my wildlife in their environment. But still a day as a gorilla keeper would be cool!

I just read someone’s and they said the cheapest. While not always the cheapest I only buy things on sale.

I have a lot of Apple products. I really like them. But I bought them when they were on sale.

I love Toyota but when I went to buy an SUV I couldn’t get a good deal. So I bought a Lexus RX350 for a steal.

I’ve learned to walk away if it’s too much and grab it if it’s a bargain. It makes shopping entertaining.

I used to wear a Fitbit but they weren’t lasting very long. Fitbit would replace them if it was under a year, which it always was. Now I have an Apple Watch and it’s been going for over a year.

I also like to find great deals on travel and use points and miles. I do have some brands i am more loyal to because they give me perks.

All in all, brands are less important than the deal.

Throughout my life, I have had many people that I admired. Often for very different reasons.

I have a husband who I admire for his intelligence and his ability to weed through the BS. I often look to him to get feedback on my actions.

I had a father I admired for his wisdom and his ability to calm situations down. I admired my mother for her ability to always see the best in people. I try to emulate her kindness but oftentimes fall short.

I had a sister who I admired for her listening skills. She helped me develop my own.

I try to surround my self with positive people, who are kind and compassionate. These are the people I would trust with their advise.

While I’ve been told all my adult life that to be able to vote is a privilege, I have not always taken advantage of this privilege.

My feeling has always been if everyone stopped showing up at the polls, that would be the most powerful message of all. My thoughts on politicians are that if one gets to that level of power, they have been corrupted. And why vote for someone who is corrupt.

Response of voting for the better of two evils are not good enough for me. I want someone to represent me who is good, kind, and uncorrupted. Maybe that’s impossible but that’d what I would like.

So many years ago I did vote in a small town election for a man who was concerned about the lake where I lived. The town was growing rapidly causing run-off into the lake and the powers that be all just loved the profits. My guy lost and the town continued down the same path. Eventually, the lake had algae blooms, both green and red which made it unsafe to swim. The lake is no longer a beautiful place. Luckily I moved away many years ago.

Moving forward I have voted for candidates solely on one issue.

I do follow politics, have strong opinions on certain issues but most of all hope that someday we will have candidates who merit my attention. For now, not so much!