Gym Cracks By Jim October 16, 2004 RETIREMENT STILL FOREIGN Being retired offers free time, but what to do? By Jim (Babe) Berryman MissingNebraska.com In our working lives we work 8 to 5 or maybe even longer--possibly 10 to 12 hour days five-six days a week. We work for 30 to 40 years so we can retire. Retire! What does the word mean? A person should have planned for retirement. I apparently did not. Money is not my problem. True I could always use more money, but I should be able to live a good life without any major money problem. Find a hobby. I can't do anything constructive with my hands so this eliminates many hobbies. I don't have a green thumb so gardening and weeding the flowers are not a top priority in my retirement life. Pheasants were never afraid of me as I was not a good shot. Fishing doesn't crank my motor either. Eliminate those activities. I can remember not being able to control my anger on the golf course. Fortunately I never hit another person with the clubs I threw. So I haven't played golf in years. What can I do? My body has been programmed to awaken at an early time. In high school and college, I worked for farmers who awakened early, at least during the growing season. I then entered the army. Reveille was at 6:00 a.m. Your were present for this morning ritual or you would be performing extra duty that evening. On to college. With afternoon athletics and work responsibilities, I enrolled in early morning classes. I took Dr. Bliese's 7:00 a.m. Tuesday and Thursday Zoology 100 class. That was in the morning, not evening. I was struck by the jogging bug, long before it was the in-thing to do. In order to participate in this positive addiction, I jogged most mornings because there is always an excuse not to do so later in the day. For years on weekdays the alarm would sound at 5:10 a.m. I would hit the streets at 5:30 for my morning jog. Wilton came into my life about ten years from an animal shelter. My canine buddy enjoys the outdoors, especially early morning when he can frolic throughout yards and streets with little dangerous traffic. On most days the two of us are on the streets by 5:00 a.m. Back in the house I spend two to three miles working up a real sweat on the treadmill. As I eat a light breakfast I read two daily newspapers. By now it is around 7:30 a.m. WHAT DO I DO WITH THE REST OF THE DAY? I've watched some TV. I've learned Bob Vila can build a house in 30 minutes. well maybe not 30 minutes. Animals spend half their lives seeking food and the other half trying not to be the nourishment for some other animal. I stare at the screen as talking heads repeat themsleves over and over. Same spiel, different faces sometimes. Weather channel reporters trying to stand as hurricanes hit the area. What are you going to do when the cops come for you? Court TV--yes, I have watched this program occasionally. If I really want to jazz up my day I can go to MTV and watch suggestive sexual movements. Of course, I can always watch CNN, or MSNBC, or Fox. The same "newsy" items repeated several times in an hour. After a couple hours I can say verbatim what the anouncer will be telling me for the 6th or was it the 7th time. I had to do something. This past week I made application at three different school districts to substitute teach. I had made the statement I would never-never substitute teach, but that was before "retirement." Hopefully I've learned never to use the word never again. I've also offered to volunteer at a couple institutions here in the community. Hopefully, my substitute teaching experience will be positive. Maybe with working occasionally and volunteering, I can adjust to this retirement thing. Post/Read Feedback PREVIOUS GYM CRACKS: Click Here