Good morning! Rise and Shine!

I went for a run in the senior citizen village near my house at 6:30am yesterday. It was such a beautiful day. 64 degrees, a light wind, and morning sun shining through puffy white clouds. What a great morning. I was certain that all sorts of happy faces would be outside to greet me. I rounded the bend towards the first loop. There was not a soul there. The houses were shut up tight and the silence was deafening…of course the pounding techno in my ears that bled through the headphones attached to my ipod likely penetrated the peaceful sanctity of the tiny little self-contained town, but it kept me sealed off nicely from reality.

Where exactly was everybody? Isn’t retirement all about early mornings and sipping coffee or tea out on the porch on a beautiful summer-like day? It was truly how I saw it to be. I had actually considered getting myself a little cottage in this village. It was about my speed. I liked the purity of retired couples. Don’t get me wrong…I know that I race around like a crazy demon most of the day, but I really love the morals of the generations earlier than ours. Life was simpler then. You didn’t have to worry about digging the remote control out of the couch. The Internet NEVER went down. You didn’t have to proofread your text messages to make sure your predictive text didn’t just tell someone you’ve been “stuck in dog with the flu.”…Just then, my thought was interrupted by the wind of a 1983 Cavalier as it tore across the street and a newspaper shot out directly at the front window of the cottage next to me. What the heck? I guess paperboys don’t go door to door anymore…Not to mention that there must be a mechanic somewhere who is keeping Cavaliers running. Go figure. My parent’s wouldn’t even run in the 80’s. hmm…Note to self: paper routes apparently don’t pay well.

Anyway…I still like my little retirement village. I don’t know where everyone was hanging out, but I’ll likely set up a keyboard and a mic on the lawn one day this summer and make some friends. It should be a great way to spend those warm summer nights. I fit in way better there than any bar or nightclub I could waste the rest of my years hanging out in!