Take the Day Off
A few days ago I took a short drive to Treasure Island after working out at the gym. I went straight to Sunset Beach at the south end of the island. The visitors are here, traffic is picking up, and the weather has been unusually warm for January. This particular day the temperature was in the mid 70's with a nice breeze from the southeast.
The beach was filled with retirees in the middle of the afternoon. One man in his eighties stopped me on the boardwalk for a chat. He was obviously wondering what a 45 year old able-bodied man like me was doing on the beach in the middle of a workday. Was I a tourist? No, I told him, I live here. Just not working today.
This launched him into a monologue about how ones "working days" are the best days of one's life. Why, during his long career at the oil refinery, he HATED to miss a day at work. He couldn't understand why anyone would want to take a day off. One of his co-workers never missed a day on the job in 35 years. When he retired, he got a nice gold watch. (Something to really look forward to, no?)
He then worked his way into talking about the skyrocketing price of real estate on the island, obviously sorry that he hadn't purchased a little piece of beach real estate back in 1970 when his wife had suggested it...
After using up 15 minutes of my time on the parking meter he tired of the one-way conversation and bid me adieu. I sauntered on down the beach, perfectly content to have a totally unproductive afternoon, generating no income whatsoever.
There is a time for work, and a time for play, and a time for doing nothing. Here's to those of us who know how to find a good balance, so as to not find ourselves old and full of regrets.
Beachhunter
The beach was filled with retirees in the middle of the afternoon. One man in his eighties stopped me on the boardwalk for a chat. He was obviously wondering what a 45 year old able-bodied man like me was doing on the beach in the middle of a workday. Was I a tourist? No, I told him, I live here. Just not working today.
This launched him into a monologue about how ones "working days" are the best days of one's life. Why, during his long career at the oil refinery, he HATED to miss a day at work. He couldn't understand why anyone would want to take a day off. One of his co-workers never missed a day on the job in 35 years. When he retired, he got a nice gold watch. (Something to really look forward to, no?)
He then worked his way into talking about the skyrocketing price of real estate on the island, obviously sorry that he hadn't purchased a little piece of beach real estate back in 1970 when his wife had suggested it...
After using up 15 minutes of my time on the parking meter he tired of the one-way conversation and bid me adieu. I sauntered on down the beach, perfectly content to have a totally unproductive afternoon, generating no income whatsoever.
There is a time for work, and a time for play, and a time for doing nothing. Here's to those of us who know how to find a good balance, so as to not find ourselves old and full of regrets.
Beachhunter
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