ITS A FUN LIFE: Some time back, a very pleasant woman who attends the same church we do, Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran, made the following comment: "You must have had an interesting life." At one time, but several years apart, this person and I lived at opposite ends of Long Beach Island , NJ. LBI is an 18-mile sand sprit off the New Jersey coast. She lived in Beach Haven and I, in Barnegat Light. I had not thought of this, but now I did. She is correct. But, in place of "interesting" I inserted "fun". Instead of "had", I inserted "having".
I have had a fun life through bright days and dreary days. It was always fun. I don't mean laughing fun but, enjoying everything. If you're not happy in your job, get a different job. I once met a man who was one of the airport traffic controllers fired by President Reagan. He reminded me of Joe Btfsplk, a comic book character in the Joe Palooka strip who always had a black rain cloud over his head. This man was so despondent, I couldn't wait to get away from him. I was fired, and walked out the door humming Happy days Are Here Again. I was happy as a lark. I now had the resources and, more importantly, the time to follow my pursuits: Airplanes, Boats, Fishing; and women as long as they did not interfere with the other three. A month or more in Canada every year fishing, flying when I wanted to, on my sailboat when I wanted to be there. I was 46-years old, single, in the prime time of my life. I wasn't thinking of mid-life crisis, I was thinking fun. I was not happy -go- lucky, Just having fun, but serious when necessary.
My sixty years of bachelorhood came to a sudden halt when a little French immigrant appeared on the scene. The fun didn't stop. Just changed direction, which included a move to Tennessee. I wrote in another Nomad News why I believe I was destined to move to Tennessee. Without Yvette, that destiny would not have been fulfilled. Why I'm here, as yet to be fulfilled. As a matter of fact, I was always sort of reserved, as I am today. But, I was always having fun and continue to do so. Life's not as buoyant, but is still fun. I can recall only three times when I wasn't having fun. One was when they told me I "couldn't" do something or "had" to do something. That got my Irish up. They told me I couldn't dump a Timeshare contract. I did. I can't tell you how as I had to sign a confidentially agreement. Another time, a fast-talking telephone solicitor convinced Yvette she needed to take a $4000.00 self-improvement course. Our lawyer told us our chance of getting a refund was nil to none. I got it. I can tell you how if you are interested. My boss at Al Paul Lefton Advertising told me I had to do something whether I liked it or not. (Details on this last comment are rather long so I will follow with Nomad News No.93) In any event, if you wish to have a long happy life, have fun. Don't hang out with the Joe Btfsplks of this world. Hang out with fun people. There are beaucoup out there. (copyright 2014 - Andrew M. Dolan
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