They Are Gone!

First day of my last week of working full time at the hotel. It was a good day. Tonight I'm meeting friends at the Purple Parrot in Rehoboth Beach to renew our weekly get together. While we residents all appreciate the seasonal visitors and the money they bring to our economy, it is good to get our town back. The well kept secret of the Rehoboth Beach area of Slower Lower Delaware, it that the weather is just fine after Labor Day. Don't tell Them (the tourists.) I remember well years ago what I overheard one Labor Day weekend in Provincetown, Massachusetts. I used to vacation several times over the summer at Cape Cod. I always thought the waiters and waitresses were glad to see me, the Big Tipper. What I overheard that night at the restaurant where I was stuffing my face was a waiter say to his friend another waiter "Thank God They will be gone this week!" WHAT? I felt Unwanted. To quote David Letterman when John McCain stood him up last week, I felt like an Ugly Date. I've often thought of that waiter's comment over the years. Now, for the first time I understand what he meant. Now I can say "I'm glad They are gone." The traffic, the rudeness, the rushing, the noise. GONE. We have our town back.

Staying Alive

Well, we didn't fall into the financial abyss.......yet. The Dow Jones Average finished up 485.21 today. The Nasdaq finished up at 98.60. I took a peek at my stock holdings (I couldn't bear to yesterday) and I saw where some of the loss was made up from yesterday. The financial crises isn't over yet. McCain is more erratic than ever (is he proving just how dangerous he is or what?) Bush appeared before the cameras again this morning. Were you reassured? One commentator on MSNBC said he looked like a beaten dog. That was an appropriate metaphor. What a mess we are in this country. Just yesterday, Wachovia Bank "merged" with Citibank. Wachovia is where one of my pension checks come from. This is hitting close to home now. I can see all too clearly how a recession would affect me. My part time job is important to help me pay my bills. Bills that I didn't anticipate when I retired to Delaware. The biggest bill is a 30 year mortgage that I have on my home here in Delaware. Yes, I got caught up in the real estate bust. I couldn't sell my Pennsylvania house and I had this new Delaware house. I finally had to lower my price on my Pennsylvania house in order to sell it. Unfortunately, my selling price wasn't enough to cover the cost of my new Delaware home, thus I had to get a mortgage. A mortgage that will be paid off when I'm 95 years old! That's why I need my part time job, to help pay that mortgage. If the economy goes down the tubes and a recession happens, it is quite possible that I could lose my job at the hotel because of less people traveling and enjoying the charms of Lewes, Delaware (where I work.) If I lose my job, that results in less income but it doesn't result in less bills. My monthly bills would remain the same. Mortgage, electric, heating, telephone, gas, TV, DSL, water, insurance. The only thing I can cut back on is eating out. One of my few pleasures. I don't eat out at fancy expensive restaurants but I do eat out with friends. I wonder if they serve cat food at the Purple Parrot?

Financial Armageddon?

The Dow Jones Average dropped 777.68 today. The largest point drop in U S history. The NASDAQ dropped 199.61. Is this our financial Armageddon? Probably. Shortly after the great Dot Com bust of 2001 I put away some cash just for this financial meltdown. Over the years since then I've thought a few times that perhaps I should have put that money in a CD. At least I would have earned some interest. After what happened today with the stock market, I'm glad I set aside some cash. We're in a terrible place in this country now. The hubris and greed of Wall Street unregulated got us here. This is the result of the deregulation of the financial institutions and markets that were put in place over the last seven years of Republican rule. The chickens are coming home to roost. Now John McCain is blaming Barack Obama for the whole mess. The ignorance and arrogance of John McCain defies belief. God help us if this man is elected president.

One More Week

Just one more week! The past five weeks I have been working full time at the Inn, filling in for a co-worker who is on maternity leave. She is schedule to be out six weeks. That means next week is my last week of working full time. I'm glad I had the opportunity to work full time. First, it enabled me to sharped my skills at the front desk. Only working twice a week, during the night shift, doesn't expose me to all the different situations that a front desk clerk encounters. Also, working one day after another full time, enables me to pick up my speed. I've also learn how to lay out the breakfast. This morning was my first big test in that category. I passed! Tasha, the regular breakfast hostess came in and pronounced, somewhat surprised, "You did well." You know what? That compliment from her meant just as much if not more than my boss complimenting me on a job well done. Working full time has put more money in my bank account too. That money enabled me to pay my annual school/real estate taxes with a check right out of my checking account. Something that wasn't possible when I lived in Pennsylvania. Back in those day I had to sell stock and cash in CD's to pay my Pennsylvania taxes. After paying my Delaware school taxes, I had enough money left over to buy real wooden blinds for the many windows in my house. Now didn't they change the character of my home? It looks like a real home now. I think we'll stay here. By the way, today is my partner's 80th birthday. Who would have ever thought I would be living with an 80 year old man? In about a month I'll be 67 years old. Who would have ever thought this young mind would reside in a 67 year old body? Well, one more week to go and I can get back to my regular schedule. And what would that be? Watching "Morning Joe" in the morning, catching up on my e-mails and posting to my blogs until noon time. Lunch, a nap, then a bit of gardening or shopping. Then my cable political shows in the late afternoon into the evening. That's basically my schedule, punctuated twice a week by working at the Inn Monday and Thursday nights. Works for me.

Clean Bill Of Health

This morning I got up early to catch the American Legion van (Post 28, the largest American Legion Post in the United States) to the Wilmington Veterans Administration Medical Center. I had a 9 AM appointment with the dermatologist. I didn't get much sleep last night because I worked at the Inn until 11 PM. I had to get up this morning around 4 AM to put myself together. One of the downsides of my retiring to Delaware is that I am quite a distance away from the nearest VA medical center. When I lived in Downingtown, I was 10 minutes away from the Coatesville VAMC. Fortunately for me though, the local American Legion Post 28 provides a van four times a week to transport us veterans to the Wilmington VAMC. Although I now have full insurance coverage through Medicare Part A and B and AARP supplemental insurance, I still use the VA for my medical care. Why? Because they take great care of me. Their focus is different. Unlike private medical care, the VA doesn't operate by how many patients they get in and out of their offices just to generate more income. Also, and this is a special pleasure I take, I don't have to wait in a waiting room with a bunch of squalling kids. Nothing against kids and family practices, but I've always felt that we old folk didn't get the same care a the youngest patients. Selfishly, I feel more comfortable with a bunch of old men (of which I am a charter member) than I do the moms and kids of family practices. The good news this morning was that I had my annual examination for skin cancer. Twenty years ago I had my first case of keratosis, which is a precancerous skin condition. On that fall day in 1988 I paid a visit to the Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia to check why my left cheek hurt every time I shaved in an upward direction. The doctor looked at my face and said immediately that I had a precancerous skin condition called keratosis. Of course when I heard the dreaded "C" word. I thought I would fall off of the doctor's paper covered table. Cancer. I thought my life was over. However, Dr. Uy soon explained to me that I had a precancerous condition that is probably the result of prolonged exposure to sun. Yep! That was me. A sun bather from way back. Now was the time to pay the price for all those years laying in the sun baking. To make a long story short, I had to undergo a painful topical chemotherapy treatment which removed the upper layer of skin from my face. Since then I've had to visit a dermatologists at least once a year to make sure the keratosis skin lesions have not return. Over the years I've had several instances of keratosis. The different dermatologists I've visited have removed these lesions by burning them off with dry ice. Painful? Yes (not as painful as that kidney stone I passed though.) All around me I have friends, including my Mother and brother, who have had more serious forms of skin cancer. So, you better believe that I see my dermatologist once a year at least. The problem when I moved down to Slower Lower Delaware (aka Sussex County, Delaware) was the lack of dermatologists. Surprising, since I live in a sea side resort community. But, that is the state of health care in this country. I even had trouble finding a general practitioner. I did find one but had to make an appointment many months in advance. So, this morning me and seven other veterans rolled up Route 1

to the Wilmington VAMC. Entering the main lobby, I headed towards the elevator and got off at the sixth floor of the building. I scanned my Veterans ID card in the machine in the dermatology unit. The Veterans Administration is very efficient in this manner. I went to the waiting room to await my 9 o'clock appointment. It wasn't too long until I was talking to my fellow veterans who were also waiting in the waiting room. Gentle banter was passed back and forth. I've always found at whatever VA waiting room I'm in, I easily make friends with the other veterans waiting for their appointments. Not so in a general practitioner's office. There, I'm just trying to stay out of the way of the screaming kids and demanding moms. It wasn't too long before the doctor appeared and asked me into their office. The doctor examined me and pronounced me clean. Big whoop! I made another year without a dangerous skin cancer problem. My next appointment is next September. Interesting fact, the dermatologist team that now services us veterans at the Wilmington VAMC are from the Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia. What goes round, comes round. Again, I am indeed fortunate. Another good day for Retired In Delaware.

Coming Down The Stretch

Only two more weeks left on my current temporary gig at full time work schedule. While I don't mind working full time, it doesn't leave me much time for what I really like to do - working in my garden and posting to my blog. While I appreciate that opportunity to work full time I'll be glad when I go back to part time work. At this time of my life, my routine and lifestyle is more suited to working part time. Working part time gives me the opportunity to have the best of both worlds. I have the freedom of retirement and yet still have the discipline of the workplace. I realize this doesn't work for everyone but it is what works for me. I guess I'll always work. At least as long as I can get up in the morning and put on my pants and shoes. However, it is getting tougher putting those shoes on.

Wild Ride

How about that stock market this week? Talk about a wild ride! Hopefully the free fall of the stock market is at an end with the promise of the emergency infusion of funds from the Federal government to save some companies that are too big to fail. My fear is that the worst is not over. I would like to think that we have hit the bottom but I think that is wishful thinking. I watched what few shares of stock that I have sink almost 50% in two days. So here in my lifetime I have seen my IRA value drop by over 90% during the bursting of the Internet Bubble of 2001. Then two years ago I got caught in the beginning of the Housing Market Bubble and was trapped into paying two mortgages for almost a year. I finally sold my house for a lot less than I had planned and as a result I now have a mortgage that will be paid off when I'm 95 years old. That's one reason I'm still working, to earn enough money to pay my monthly mortgage. That's not the only reason I'm working during my retirement. I enjoy my job working at a local small boutique hotel. My coworkers are interesting and fun to work with, and I enjoy meeting new people. But the wild ride of the market this week brought back to me how tenuous my security is. The terrorists have tried to bring this country down by ramming airplanes in the twin towers of the World Trade Center. However, the deregulation of Wall Street may have achieved what the terrorists couldn't achieve, bringing this country down. Can there still be any question about privatising Social Security and putting those funds in Wall Street?