The question is, what is the greatest gift someone could give you? First of all, it would depend on who that someone is? There are many possibilities. The first someone could be a complete stranger. The obvious answer to that one is money baby and lots of it. Depending on the amount, the other requirement would be they remain a complete stranger after they give it to me. They could give it to me in person, but that would be the extant of it. Now what would the amount have to be to let them at least socially become part of my life. I would say about a half a million. If you are going to hand me less than that then just beat it after you give it to me. I would take any amount also, a few thousand or whatever, but just shake my hand, I will say thank you and then turn and walk away. The next someone could be what would be called an acquaintance. Now most of the people I know, although there are exceptions, don’t have a pot to piss in. The few that I do know that are well heeled I would take money from them as long as our relationship remains the same. For my poorer acquaintances, I guess I would want them to do some chores for me. Take the car for an oil change, shovel snow, cut the grass etc. Nothing huge but just some things so I could play more golf. The next someone would be friends and relatives that are not close. The best gift would be to just continue to stay in touch and hopefully all of us will have good times with not too many bad experiences thrown in, although I know that those cannot be totally avoided. Unfortunately, things have to change but hopefully the good things will change slowly, and the bad things will happen quickly, so we can move on to more pleasant times. The final someone is my immediate family and the greatest gift they can give me they already have. I am proud of all of them and the lives they have chosen to lead. It is easy to relax and enjoy the golden years, when the people you are closest to and love, exemplify all the things that you feel make the world a better place. Thank you for the greatest gift that money can’t buy. But hey, any wealthy strangers out there, feel free.
Doing Things For Play And Fun
What was the last thing you did for play or fun?
The latest thing I did for play and fun was a plane trip to San Diego yesterday to see the grandkids for the holidays. It was literally the last thing I did, because quite frankly I do everything for play and fun. I was lucky enough to find something I loved to do and I did that something for 44 yrs, with 29 of those years being my own boss. My other passion, golf, I have done for over 60 years and have had a blast. That doesn’t mean that I have not had sad times in my life. It means that if I am going to do something, no matter what it is related to, I am going to have fun doing it. I am a firm believer that work is play. You are going to be doing it 35 to 50 hours a week and if you’re not having fun then get a new career. I was an employee for 15 years and I found that this was a major difference, that most organizations were not having fun. I admit I have been lucky. I knew exactly what I wanted to do with my life and pretty much did it. I wish I had an answer on how to find your niche in life, but maybe that is a start. If you do something that you consider play and fun, try turning it into a career.
Favorite Physical Activities or Exercises
When I was younger it was running. I would jog anywhere from 2 to 3 miles per day sometimes more. Once when I trained for a half of a marathon, I gradually upped it to around 9 to 10 miles a day. I was in my mid-forties when I ran the half marathon, and I learned one very important thing. I would never run a marathon. I would probably still be running today if it were not for an ankle injury I suffered in my early 60’s. After the injury I continued to run for about 5 years but when my significant other had her hip replaced and they told her no running, I decided that was as good as an excuse as any, and the last 5 years I have been a walker. I walk almost every day around 3 to 5 miles. My ankle is a minor inconvenience, and if I had more desire, I would probably jog on it every once in a while. My other activity of course is golf. Now people do not really think of golf as much of an activity, especially if you ride a golf cart which I do when I play 18 holes. The golf courses in Western Pennsylvania are very hilly and the terrain wreaks havoc on my ankle. When I play 9 holes, I will walk most of time but 18 is too much of a strain on the ankle. If you swing a golf club correctly, and that is the key word here, correctly, it gives the body a very nice workout. There is twisting, turning, and stretching of various muscles. The hands and wrists get a good workout. The golf swing helps you to maintain balance while performing a very refined movement. I have a very short 6 lb. weighted club that I swing every day. I also use the club to do arm exercises. The problem is, you can hit a golf ball by not using hardly any muscles, but it won’t go very far or straight. If you properly swing a club with some resistance and tension in the correct muscles, making a nice big turning swing, your body is going to get stronger. Not only that, but you are also going to be outside, not in some noisy claustrophobic gym where you can’t do anything until you wipe all the disgusting things that other people have left on the machines. Yuk! Golf is a great activity to keep the body fit and flexible. Not going to do much for your aerobic capacity but that is why you walk or run up the steps. This is a pretty easy way to keep fit.
Wild Animals
Even though Western Pennsylvania is mostly a Democratic area, every once in a while, I do see a Trump supporter. They usually have that stupid ballcap on and I am always appalled because it is red and Ohio State colors are scarlet and gray. You usually see them in the outlying rural areas. They usually walk hunch over with their head down. When you are driving down these rural roads you have to be careful because they will have a tendency to run out onto the road, especially if they see any aluminum cans. They rarely have clothes on that fit, always a couple of sizes too small. Other than that, we will have a deer or two come into the yard. They do a very good job of trimming our shrubs. On the golf course I will see more deer and once in a while a fox. I don’t know our birds consider wild animals. We do have a lot of intelligent birds. They fly around and crap on Trump supporters only. Another reason I love living in Western Pennsylvania.
Two Favorite Things To Wear
My two favorite things to wear (Not 1 or 3 but 2) are underwear and a toboggan. Underwear because it keeps my testicles in place and therefore, I do not sit on them. There is no question as you age your testicles have a tendency to hang down just a little farther than they did in your younger days. The difference is just enough that if you are not careful you can sit on them, and it can really hurt. I wear jockey underwear. I just do not trust boxers to do the job. Before I write about why I like a toboggan, it does go by different names such as ski cap, beanie, watch cap, and snookie, just so everyone knows what I am talking about. When I googled this, it claimed that toboggan was more of a southern term for this kind of cap. I don’t know. I grew up in Martins Ferry, Ohio and that was only name I ever heard it called until I was an adult in Western Pennsylvania. Anyway, the reason it is one of my favorite things to wear is that it allows me to play golf in some pretty cold temperatures, around 36 degrees and above. When I was a younger golfer and played golf in these cold conditions, I use to secretly make fun of other golfers that wore toboggans. I actually considered this non golf wear. I don’t even remember what started me doing it, but as soon as I covered my ears, I could not believe how much warmer I felt. Just like your hanging testicles, as you age, one becomes more sensitive to cold weather, and I really thought my cold weather days of playing golf were coming to an end. My usual threshold for playing golf was 38 degrees Fahrenheit and no wind. As I was getting older, I was moving this up to about 42 degrees. Then when I started wearing a toboggan, I was able to go back to my original conditions of play, because of how much warmer I felt with my ears covered. In fact, I would have to say that the toboggan is my favorite piece of clothing even over the underwear. However, I would always get in the golf cart very carefully.
The All-Time Favorite Animal
Being a veterinarian, I have owned and treated many dogs and cats. However, this is without a doubt the all-time favorite animal. When I did farm work back in the mid 70’s I use to drive by a farm that used another vet. I couldn’t help but notice that there was a 3-legged cow running around the field. I could not imagine why someone would have a 3-legged cow. That farmer called me one day when his regular vet was away, to see if I could look at one of his cows. I said sure and I would be there in an hour. After I got done treating the cow and he was paying me, I said to him, I have to ask you one question. He, of course, already knew the question, why do I have a 3-legged cow. He said ” Let me tell you something about that cow. When I was out in field one day, I hit something unexpected, and the tractor rolled on top of me. That cow came over and pushed the tractor off of me and probably saved my life. Then about a month later, in the middle of the night, we had an electrical fire. The cow came on the front porch, knocked the door down, stuck its head inside and let out the loudest moo you ever heard, waking up the entire family, saving everybody’s lives”. He then turned to walk away. I called out to him, I don’t understand, why does it have only 3 legs. Without breaking stride or looking back the farmer said ” When you find a cow that good you don’t eat it all at once”. Now, that is a favorite animal. Happy Thanksgiving everyone.
Favorite Meals
The number 3 is way too limiting if you are a foodie which I am. Let’s divide this up into meals that you prepare and meals that are eaten out. When family and friends gather to eat it is always fun, but it is even better when what is being served is a favorite and really good. When you eat out, sometimes you will get a surprise, and obviously if it a good surprise, that even makes it better. When you eat at home you know it is going to be good from previous experience, and that is part of the fun of looking forward to it. I will start with my favorite eating out experiences.
I had a surprise eating experience not too long ago in Connecticut. This was at an Italian Restaurant and the experience was triggered by the bread being served with roasted garlic and a marinara sauce. When I dipped the bread in the marinara, it was the best marinara I have ever tasted, and I might add, that I make a very good marinara. This led to ordering the pasta Bolognese and it was again the best I have ever had. I had the grilled Octopus for an appetizer, which was amazing. Topped off this splendid meal with a Tiramisu dessert which was the perfect ending. I have had many amazing meals in restaurants, and I usually stick to seafood. Love fried shrimp and fish. I had a scallop dish in pasta shells with a cheese sauce which was to die for. Grilled Sea Bass is another one of my favorites. I love Mexican food and some of the best I have had was in San Diego in Old Town. The enchiladas were the best. The margaritas were delicious which made all the food taste even better. Short Ribs done right is another meal that is mouthwatering and delicious. I have had steaks years ago when it was affordable that were dry aged and were superb. The eating out experience can be wonderful, and it is a shame when it is not. Fortunately, I have not had many of those, since it can put a damper on a wonderful evening.
When cooking at home it can be even a more festive time. Thanksgiving and Christmas are one of those times. Turkey is always one of my favorites and one Christmas I did a prime rib that turned out perfectly. It was my one and only effort and it could not have been better. Homemade pizza is one of my favorites with lots of beer. The smash burger is another family favorite. My favorite dinner time meal is to make Enchiladas, beef, pork, and chicken. It is a lot of work, but it is worth the effort. The homemade ones are very delicious and better than most when you eat them out. Again, served with lots of beer. Last but certainly not least, we cannot leave out BREAKFAST! Oh my God. You name it, eggs, bacon, ham, steak, sausage. toast, waffles, pancakes, fruit, whipped cream, maple syrup, home fries, and I mean real home fries (does anybody really know how to make them anymore), Bagels, English Muffin, Crumpets, and cheese. In England they serve bake beans for breakfast, and I loved that. With all these things for breakfast, who needs lunch. One of my favorite things is breakfast for dinner. Right now, I am drooling on my fingers. I could go on, but it is obvious that naming 3 favorite meals is ridiculous. I even left out soups, chili, and chicken. Well time to eat. Did I mention that I really like meatloaf leftover, especially the one I make. Yum!
Where Would I Live?
If I would stay in the United States I would live right where I am living now in Western Pennsylvania near Pittsburgh. Even though I grew up in Ohio, it was a little town Martins Ferry right on the Ohio-West Virginia border, it was only 60 miles from Pittsburgh. You could say that I have been in this area for my entire life. A four year sojourn to Columbus to go to Veterinary School and a 6 month stay in Athens Ohio to finish my pre-vet curriculum at Ohio University and that has been all the places that I have lived. There are so many pluses to living in Western Pa. that you could write a book on the subject. Here is the short list. The cost of living is more than reasonable especially for such things as housing and recreation. There are lots of things to do culturally and recreationally. It is without a doubt the best place to play golf. There are around 90 to 95 public courses with 90 minutes from my house and most of them are very reasonably priced. The weather is better than what most people think it is. Our winters are not that bad, and the most important thing is we do not get that disastrous destructive type of weather, such as hurricanes and tornadoes. Over the years we have gotten what is referred to as a microburst that has caused some damage, and some flooding here and there, but overall compared to a lot of areas of the country we have been spared. We have very successful sport teams. In my lifetime I have been able to watch 6 Super Bowl champions, 3 World Series champions, and 5 Stanley Cup champions. Having said all that there is one drawback. Pittsburgh happens to be in the state of Pennsylvania. As I use to tell many of my clients, I love Pittsburgh, I just wish it was in Ohio. Not that Ohio is any kind of utopia, far from it, but Pennsylvania is one of the most backward states in the union. If something is good they are in the bottom 5. If something is bad they are in top 5. This does not say that this totally offsets all the attributes of living in this wonderful area. It just keeps it from being perfect.
If my family were not here, or if I had no family, then I would probably live in the United Kingdom. If you have to ask why then you must be living in such a remote area that you’re not reading this anyway. I would go into more detail, but I have to get ready to play golf. Check the calendar, its November 14th, I am going to play golf, and with the winter rates, it is going to cost me $16 with a cart for 18 holes. Beat that all you southern rebels.
Don’t Have To Do Screens Anymore
How do you manage screen time for yourself?
Since we have air conditioning we don’t have to set aside a time to put in screens. I can remember when I was a kid my mother telling me “Bobby don’t make any plans this weekend because we are going to put the screens in”. We had a lot of windows so it was about a two day project. We usually did it the first weekend in May. It’s nice that I don’t have to worry about this any more. I hope everyone out there has air so every weekend can be nothing but fun. This prompt seems a little outdated. The next thing you know, they will ask us, what do you do when you have to stand in a long line at the bank? They probably don’t even know that there are drive throughs now.
Kid At Heart
Another writing prompt ask when you knew you became an adult or something like that, and there were a few answers that said they never did. When I was kid I played a lot of sports on the playground. I did play some organized sports, mainly baseball, but most of the time it was just pick up games with the neighborhood kids. I watched a lot of sports. I was a good student and did my homework with no prodding. I always enjoyed watching movies and TV shows and reading. Believe it or not, over the course of about 10 years I read the Bible twice. As I got into my later “kid years” I got more obsessed with golf and played every chance I got. I was always stubborn and was going to do what I wanted to do when I wanted to do it. I was an only kid, so I did not have to share with anybody, but I had no problem letting friends use my stuff. I never even minded if I did not get it back. My stuff never hugged me. I was always curious about things. In school I was a bit of a math whiz, which was the main reason I did well in college and got into veterinary school. Naturally when I became an adult by age, I got a job and had a career. Now I am retired and 73 years old. Other than playing on a playground, I do everything today that I did as a kid. The only difference is that I do not have parents bugging the crap out of me. I guess you could say I am a kid at heart, but I much prefer being thought of as just a kid.
The Goofy Game of Golf/Life Searching for the Answer 