Well, i’m just a-givin’ ‘er here in Winnipeg, living the fast, wild life of the retired octogenarian with my Mom in her 55-and-over retirement condo. This is the golden years that our parents worked their lives away for — what we ourselves have little hope of — and let me tell you, it ain’t bad. Apart from that can-only-end-in-the-grave aspect.
It has been an adjustment, slowing down to retirement pace, especially since Mom broke a bone in her foot and has to wear a temporary “boot cast” (you’ve seen the like in a Frankenstein movie, i’m sure) that i help her put on every morning. So it takes us (i timed it surreptitiously) 1.5 minutes to get from her apartment to the elevator, 1-2 minutes to get down to the parking garage, and 4-6 minutes to get to the car, depending on whether we check the mail and meet other people in the building. Add a good 30 seconds just to get into the car and you’ll see how damned impatient i really am, deep down.
On the plus side, there’s a whole city out there to explore. Not that i’ve strayed for from this computer, with its fast Internet connection and big, clear screen, in the past few days. But i got plans: Mountain Equipment Co-op lies downtown; the Fringe starts next week and i hope to volunteer; and the circus is in town.
Greg Blee 