Freedom From Fear.....

     THESE are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be highly rated.

                             -----Thomas Paine

                                                         Franklin D. Roosevelt

Move West Old Man.......

     To paraphrase Oliver Wendell Holmes, that advice is timeless and quite useful to me.  After living in the Ohio Valley for the last 6 years, the opportunity has arisen for me to take a much more active role in being a part of 3 of my grand daughter's lives.  I could not be more excited.  Having decided to retire from community theater, and not spending as much time as I would like on various other pursuits, when asked to help in after school and holiday care for my twin grands and their sister, I was more than happy to oblige my son.  Even though I have waited for this chance for the last 4 years, I also hope that I am physically up to the task.  In the last 4 years, I have had at least 2 cardiac stents placed, as well as a quadruple heart bypass.  Though I am told my ticker is not as healthy as it should be, I generally feel pretty healthy, aside from the typical aches and pains one might expect in a 63 year old who instead of treating his body as a temple, has opted to treat it as a lean-to.

     Moving to a new city, especially at my age won't be easy, but with my son's help and a new girlfriend to assist, I look forward to it.  In any case, having downsized radically during the Great Recession, my lack of material possessions should make the process much easier and quicker, provided I get off my butt and start packing.  Having done everything I could to delay the inevitable because I am a star procrastinator, I will close with a fond farewell to Hamilton, Ohio and a hidey ho to OKLAHOMA...

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