BORN AGAIN

In 1941 E.B. White wrote a short story, ten years before my birth, that set the stage for my philosophy on life, or the importance therein:

"One summer, along about 1904, my father rented a camp on a lake in Maine and took us all there for the month of August. We all got ringworm from some kittens and had to rub Pond's Extract on our arms and legs night and morning, and my father rolled over in a canoe with all his clothes on; but outside of that the vacation was a success and from then on none of us ever thought there was any place in the world like that lake in Maine."

Therein lies my philosophy for the rest of my days on this planet. In fact, I have planned this same scene for the background of the rest of my life.

In January this year I quit my job and have no plans to work for money anymore. I planned my escape for many years and with some sound financial planning I expect to live a comfortable life, a life filled with the real things that actually count...such as E.B. White's one more trip to the lake.

I am sure that when someone is hooked up to machines, and on their last legs of life's journey, the last thing they remember is the job they held...no, it is precious memories of days gone by...

Today, I can appreciate how Atlas finally felt when he "shrugged". My albatross (job) has been removed and I am "BORN AGAIN". A chance to really live the way I have always dreamed life should be lived, free and unharnessed.

Today I am much busier than I was when I had a job, in fact there is not a day, a night, an hour where there is not something that has to be accomplished and/or planned. I am living one-day-at-a-time, yet also looking to the future.

Another goal I have for this summer is to obtain my ORCA Certifications in canoeing as an Instructor, thus I will be able to teach, not only canoe skills to the youth, but also some important life skills, the real things that matter in life and give them an opportunity to take E.B. White's trip "Once More To The Lake."