Weekly Roundup

Here we go again folks, my new "Weekly Roundup Feature."  All things that happened this past week, too small to justify individual blog postings but important enough to keep my "Retired in Delaware" blog followers inflamed informed.

This weekend if the official end of summer.  Thank God.  Sure I'm thankful for all the visitors to our vacation mecca here on coastal Delaware but I'm also thankful when they leave and we can get back to normal.  My co-worker at the hotel texted me a message last night the question he was constantly getting last night:  "What's going on?"  This is standard question we get from guest who waiting until the last minute to make reservations at the hotel for rooms only to find out that we are sold out.  "WHAT'S GOING ON?" Like the whole world waits for them to make their hotel reservations one day before Labor Day Weekend.  Sorry folks, SUMMER is "going on."  This "What's going on" has always been a running joke among all my fellow hotel front desk clerks for all hotels where I have worked.  This year was no exception, "What's going on?"  Indeed.

I had my visit with my dermatologist this week to cut out a couple of precancerous patches of skin on my body.  One was right below my right ear and the other on my right clavicle.  It took a total of eleven stitches to sew me back up after my doctor excised the offending flesh.  Does it hurt?  You bet.  But it was something that had to be done.  The stitches will be removed this Friday.  Next up!

I missed a lot of the TV coverage of the Republican Convention this week because I was working Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday night at the hotel.  Yep, Part-Time Ron was working almost full-time this week...again.  I go back to working part-time again (Mondays and Tuesdays) this week.  The hotel hired a new part-time person to replace the Drama Queen who previously worked at the hotel and I had to fill in for practically every week.  The new guy (yes, a retired "gentleman" who presumably will be a more dependable employee than his predecessor).  I am really looking forward to going back to my regular schedule.  When I work nights almost every night of the week my eating schedule gets totally screwed up which results in my digestive system getting out of whack).  I did see enough of the convention though to discover that Paul Ryan, the GOP vice presidential candidate is a congenital liar and the presidential candidate Mitt "Mittens" Romney is as odious as I heard.  God, can you imagine looking at those soulless, beady eyes for the next four years?  The mere thought gives me chills that run down my back.

I bought a new hedge trimmer yesterday at Loew's.  I'm ready for fall cleanup in our backyard.  I have loads of holly and rose bushes to trim up before the onset of the cold winds of winter.  The days are getting shorter (dark at 8 pm now), the Purple Martins and swallows are gone and the snow geese from Canada are on their way to spend the winter foraging in our many acres of coastal fields of harvested corn.

I haven't been to the boardwalk once this summer since Memorial Day, unlike previous years when I used to go down at least once a week.  Each year the traffic is heavier and heavier.  This year the traffic of out of state tourists was just too much for me to even consider going down to Rehoboth Beach for a walk on the boardwalk.  What is even worse than the heavy traffic are the number of aggressive drivers.  We've already had several fatalities caused by reckless drivers.  I don't want to be part of that statistic so I just stay clear of the madness during the summer months.

I am looking forward to fall and winter when we locals get our town back.  Thanks out of state tourists, we appreciate all the business but now it is time to go home.  Get those kiddies back in school and have a wonderful Thanksgiving and Christmas.  We'll see you next year but now it is time for us to enjoy the truly wonderful place that is living in southern Delaware.

Morning fog - Sussex County, Delaware

Rehoboth Beach October 1, 2011

Getting ready to feed the gulls this morning at the edge of the continent

Under the cover of the early morning darkness, Bill and I stealthily drove out of our still sleeping development to deliver food for those Rehoboth Beach seagulls that loiter around the beach.  I had some food past its expiration date in my refrigerator and it was time to Feed The Seagulls.  Oh yes, I know we are not to Feed the Birds but I do anyway, lawbreaker that I am.  Report me.

Last summer I made the trek to the boardwalk in Rehoboth just about everyday. When I realized that I was paying about $30 a week for gas (Rehoboth is 10 miles each way from our home), I cut back on my trips to the boardwalk.  Plus, I was growing uneasy with the high traffic on Route 1.  It would just be a matter of time before I had a fender bender or worse, what with all the crazy drivers on One.

This past summer I think I made maybe three trips to the boardwalk, each one worse than the next for fighting the traffic and the Summer Hoards of Touristas, bless their money spending hearts.  I have to say I didn't really miss the stress of driving to and fro the beach.

Now that the summer season is ended, I figured it would be safe to return to the beach and take in the sights, sounds and smells of the Atlantic Ocean which I am so fortunate to have so close.  Today was no exception.  I feed the seagulls and got dirty looks from some of the early Beach Traffic.  I ignored them.  Get over it folks.

Then I took a walk "on the boards".  Oh it was good to have that spring in my step again and the exhilarating feeling of getting my blood flowing again from my brisk walking pace.  I love walking on the boardwalk.  If I lived in Rehoboth, I would walk everyday. I walk almost everyday in the development behind where we live, but it's not the same as walking on the boardwalk, listening to the gentle waves rolling in on the beach, the seagulls squawking and the smell of salt air.  I never tire of that experience folks, never.

Not many folks on the Boards this morning - just the way I like it

Bill waited in my car while I took my Stroll on the Boardwalk.  The Usuals were on the boardwalk this morning.  The women who use that ridiculously funny arm movement while they walk, thinking that silly action is going to reduce the size of their hips and fat asses.  Doesn't work ladies.  Then there are those ancient (I guess that would include me) Old Folk who are exercising by walking, hoping to prolong their lives by a few more years by getting their circulatory system going.  And how can we forget the grossly overweight who waddle up and down the boardwalk, hoping to stave off a heart attack and maybe lose a few pounds.  Again, it ain't happening folks but if that's what turns you on, go for it.

The Boardwalk Show never disappoints.  It's all the Humane Drama and Comedy all rolled into one, me included of course.  I don't exempt myself.

At one time I kidded myself that perhaps, just maybe, I might meet a Fellow Walker.  You know, a FRIEND.  HA!  That ain't happening either.  Oh sure, I have received some LOOKS, but look what was looking at me.  No thank you.  They are either too young or too old (and fat).  Isn't that the name of a song?  Oh well.

In a few weeks it will be officially Fall and the last remnants of the Touristas will be gone and I can go into Rehoboth and enjoy all the natural wonder of living near the Atlantic Ocean without the stress of traffic, people and oppressive heat of summer.  Fall truly is the best time at the beach.

Sunrise on the Atlantic Ocean at Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, October 1, 2011

Lazy, Hazy August Sunday

Bill trying to make out the writing on an old tombstone near Milton,, DE 

Just another quiet day here on the eastern shore of coastal southern Delaware. Today sure is a lot different from last Sunday, the Day After hurricane Irene.  I'll take days like this anytime.

I feel confident that the thousands of tourists who descended on our little peninsula here on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean for the Labor Day weekend are happy that we have had beautiful, sunny days this weekend for their Last Fling of Summer.  Of course I stayed away from the boardwalk in Rehoboth Beach this weekend.  I know it is just lovely down there and I would like to hear the waves rolling in on the beach and the sea gulls screaming for more french fries but I'm just not in the mood to fight all that traffic, bicyclists, and people this delightful late summer day.

Bill and I took a ride to the other resort town (our little secret) of Milton this morning.  While Milton doesn't have the Atlantic Ocean it does have Wagamon's Pond.  What?  You've never heard of Wagamon's pond? Well count yourself among the million or so folks who never have heard of this pond in the center of downtown Milton.  Next time you're in the area you'll have to visit Wagamon's Pond and see what all the fuss it about.

On the way into Milton on Cave Neck Road Bill and I stopped at an old family cemetery.  This one was call the "The Weigands Cemetery."  There must be hundreds of these old family cemeteries along the roads crisscrossing southern Delaware. One wonders what has happened to these old family cemeteries in the north of the state of Delaware, where it is much heavier populated.

Some of the headstones were so old we couldn't read them.  We're going to stop back tomorrow with a little Fantastick and an old toothbrush to clean away the mold and funk of a hundred years or more to identify some of these headstones.  If we don't do it now the information on these headstones will be forever lost to history.  That's why I like roaming graveyards and recording the information and photos on Find a Grave.com.  Long after I'm gone the history will be there for future generations. That gives me a senses of purpose.

Yesterday my blogger friend Dr. Spo called me on FaceTime and we discussed that to live the healthiest life one should have a sense of purpose.  I have several, one of which is my genealogy research.  The second being my Find a Grave projects.  And of course another one is what I am doing right now, writing this blog that gives me a sense of purpose and perhaps some who read it, an insight into someone else's life which they may find interesting.  I know that I find those blogs that are personal the most interesting blogs to read.

Have a great day everyone!

Back to Normal

Butterfly activity was very busy in my backyard today.  Where did they hide during the hurricane?

During the darkest hours during Hurricane Irene's onslaught of our Delaware coast home, one of my Facebook friends sent me a message "Don't worry Ron, the sun will be out tomorrow."  


With thoughts of the roof of our house being ripped off by a random tornado or just the simple inconvenience of losing power for hours or days, that message was such a comfort.

Well, I am very happy to say that we made it through Irene with little more damage than some beaten down impatiens plants and a torn tree limb or two.  I don't mean to minimize the real damage that was done here, only a few miles away where a house was completely destroyed and fifteen damaged by that random tornado. Aren't those random tornadoes the worst?  I say if you're going to have a tornado let's have one that is planned.  I mean, REALLY.  But I digress.

That simple statement "Don't worry Ron, the sun will be out tomorrow", put the dire situation of the moment into perspective.  My way of going into any situation that I know I have no control is with the mindset of "Let me just GET THROUGH THIS" and hope for the best".  Yes, prepare for the worst but hope for the best.

We got the best out of this situation.  I pay no attention to those who are now criticizing the TV coverage and government officials for over hyping the threat of Hurricane Irene.  I think the local, state and Federal officials were exactly right in their warnings and the steps they took too prepare the populace for the worst. Sure, most of the TV mob are drama queens.  So what?  That's the business they're in.  The best quote I heard yesterday was from New Jersey Chris Christie.  He had just heard that there were still people on the beach on the Jersey Shore sunning and surfing.  I quote Governor Christie:

I may have to turn in my Bleeding Heart Ultra Liberal card but I like this man!

What It's All About

Swallow eggs in the bluebird house this morning -swallows always put feathers in their nest to "soften the blow"

This is what summer is all about for me.  This is a picture of four swallow eggs that the beautiful, iridescent swallow birds laid in the bluebird box in my backyard.  Normally the bluebirds raise two batches of young bluebirds in this box, but after the first batch left, the swallows quickly took over the box.  I let them.  Last year we had all kinds of trouble with aggressive sparrows which resulted in one swallow being killed and the next being abandoned.  Thankfully, this year the sparrows haven't tried to take over my backyard (including the Purple Martin House) like they did last year.

I'm very happy with my backyard this year.  I just finished filling a couple of vacant spots with some giant Asiatic lilies.  I think I'm set this year.  Now to set back and enjoy the summer.

This is what it is all about folks.  I worked hard a long time to arrive at this point in my life that I can do these little things to help nature.  This gives me a great deal of satisfaction to do my part.

I'm off to Washington D.C. tomorrow.  Hopefully it won't be too hot and humid.  I'm looking forward to taking a lot of pictures.  Sunday I hit the boardwalk in Rehoboth.  Monday my longtime friend Larry and his wife Lois are coming down and we're getting our picture taken at Olde Time Photo.  We're trying to talk her into posing as a dance hall queen.  My friend Lar and I will be the Old Grizzled Cowpokes.  We're never too old for that kind of fun.  I'm loving this retirement!

Have a great weekend.

Ready to Go

Iris

This morning we picked up our rental van.  Our friend Bob stopped over.  We showed him what plants have to be watered.  We invited him to come over as often as he would like.  Sit on the back deck and enjoy the view of Route 1 and our Purple Martins in our backyard oasis.  Neighbors on either side of our house will be keeping an eye on our house as we do their when they are away.  We don't often go away so usually we're the ones watching the house.  It's a reverse situation this time.  Probably the last time both Bill and I will be making a trip together.


The main purpose of this trip is for Bill to visit his hometown of Toccoa, Georgia.  Bill is 82 years old now and this will probably be the last time he sees his hometown.  We visited last year but only stayed a few hours in the afternoon, not enough time for Bill to visit his old haunts.


Later we will be visiting my brother in Greenville, South Carolina.  We'll stay there a few nights then we're off to Cades Cove, Tennessee and the Smoky Mountains National Park.  Bill has never seen this beautiful American Shangri-la.  I am looking forward to showing him around.  On the way I hope to meet up with several of my family cousins in Tennessee and North Carolina.  


We have no set time to be at any place, this is a casual trip.  I don't like to be tied down to a "If this is Tuesday this must be Belgium" schedule.  


I'm taking my iPad and iPhone with me and hope to keep my blog updated but I cannot guarantee that I will.  If you don't here from me for a few days, don't panic.  I will be back.  


As much as I'm looking forward to this trip I am going to miss my home here.  I am truly at home here in Delaware.  For the first time in my life I am living in a place that doesn't feel like a temporary way station on the way to my permanent home.  This is my home and I will be glad to return. 

Paying for the rental this morning

Twelve Things

Okay, I'll take up the challenge of 'Twelve Things' today. I have to admit I love this kind of thing since I do like to take pictures.  So here we go from the start of my day this morning.  Yes, I know the day isn't over yet.  As I type this entry the time is 3:40 pm.  I'm meeting my friends Bob McC., Jim D., Bart R. and Tommy M. for dinner at Zorba's Greek Restaurant in Rehoboth Beach at 5:30.  If I finish this posting in time I still have enough time for a short nap, and shower and off to Zorba's, one of my favorite restaurants in this area.  But I'm posting my 'Twelve Things' now because I have more than twelve pictures of life here in southern Delaware this sunny, pre-spring Saturday morning.

My usual breakfast - Corn Chex, 2% milk and a banana

Yes, even though I was going out to breakfast with my friends this morning, that wouldn't be until 9 am. I get up at 6 am and I HAVE to have something.  I plan to go light on Breakfast No. 2 this morning.  I failed...

Before I leave for breakfast I have a little FaceTime with my old friend (from third grade) Lar in Claymont, DE...

I'm off to breakfast in my 'Here I Come' fire engine red 2010 Subaru Forester. I love this car!...

I pass the Michael Rennie Memorial Spaceship on Airport Road on my way to breakfast...

I pass a metallic fisherman on Route 24 on the way to breakfast...

Car in the restaurant parking lot, somebody snagged a really cool vanity plate... 

I meet my friend Tommy M. (in the middle, I'm on the right) after an absence of 15-20 years.  At 81 he looks damn good!  Only thing that seem to change was his hair is white now.  Bob (on the left) is 74 and I'm 69.  We're all hanging in there!...

Tommy eyes up the starch, grease and sugar that is breakfast.  It will soon be gone down the hatch.  Arteries, here comes the plaque...

Our friend Jim counts the change in calculating the bill splitting at the end of breakfast. Jim loves this kind of thing - check out his napkin with the figures written on it - he didn't want to use my bill splitter app on my iPhone...

Homeowners' association meeting this morning at 11 am at the church across the street from our development...

Tom (Not the singer) Jones, our association president checks off the list of attendees, let the games begin...

This subtle sign at the speaker's podium sets the tone for the meeting today...

Yours truly is called into action to open the proxy mailings (I'm considered the most trustworthy of the characters attending this meeting including the two guys to my immediate left - Al and Don - who no longer speak to me which is a shame because they are the only other gay male couple in our development (there are two lesbians couples also in the development)...

Tom (Not the Singer) Jones conducts the meeting....for the first time in five years we had a quorum, YEA!...

After the meeting I took a quick ride to Milton to record my friend Don V.'s fabulous daffodil dispay, spring has arrived!...

When in Milton one has to go to the Dogfish Head Brewery, one of the great success stories of LSD...

The Dogfish Head main office, cool...

The fish must be bitting at the Broadkill as this lone fisherman tries his luck...

Pepper's Greenhouse in Milton, I got me a whole tray of these beauties...

The first flea market I've seen this spring, spotted on my way back from Pepper's.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know.  I posted more than twelve 'things'.  Hey, I had a lot more pictures than these.  Anyway, this gives you a flavor of my day and it isn't over yet!

Don't forget to 'spring' those clocks forward this morning, it's Daylight Savings Time!

Cape May-Lewes Ferry

Me on the Cape May-Lewes Ferry before departure to Cape May

Yesterday I finally boarded the Cape May-Lewes Ferrt and made the trip to Cape May.  


Ever since I moved to Delaware four years ago (November 2006), I wanted to take the 70 minute trip from Lewes, Delaware to Cape May, New Jersey.  The only problem is that I didn't want to do it by myself.  I would prefer to make my initial trip with friends.  Yesterday that happened when my friends Jack and Judy asked me if I would like to accompany them on a day trip to Cape May.  I immediately accepted.


Thus on a cold and windy day, I made my virgin voyage to Cape May.  The trip was a success!


I was mightily impressed with the futuristic building that is the Cape May-Lewes Terminal in Lewes.  The trip over was very pleasant.  I didn't get seasick.  In fact, I've never gotten seasick. I like the gentle rocking of the boat.  I am definitely a water person.


Jack and Judy took me on a tour of Cape May, which is just as beautiful as everyone has told me over the years.  My friend and former boss Bill P., who has a summer place in Cape May has often told me I would love Cape May.  He was right!  I love the gingerbread, Victorian style houses  I especially like the grand hotel called Congress Hall.  Wow.  


Come this summer I will be making many more trips on the Cape May-Lewes Ferry.  I'm looking forward to it.  

Black Friday

Friday is almost gone and I did not spend one penny shopping.  


Very good Ron!


Oh I remember years past when I was out there in the thick of the throng of shoppers.  Not this year nor did I go out last year.  


Part of the reason is that I really don't have anyone to shop for.  Bill doesn't like to receive Christmas presents.  I don't give out any other presents other than to my neighbor Barb and my friend Bob.  I like to give them something personal that I created myself which is usually a picture calendar from photographs I've taken during the year.  


In the past I always shopped for my Mother.  Her birthday was on December 24th so I did double duty on the shopping for her.  Mom died this year so I won't even do shopping for her.  And I'll tell you, it's sort of hitting me harder than I thought.  This is the first year in my life that I'm not shopping for my Mom.  The first time in 69 years.  


The temperature was a tolerable 61 degrees so I dragged the outside Christmas lights from the attic.  I wanted to take advantage of this mild weather to put the outside lights up.  I hate putting Christmas lights up but they do look so good as I drive down Whitehall Drive to our home. 


I only got half the lights up though.  And, of course, one string is half out.  One light goes out and the whole block goes out.  I thought they stopped doing that.  Now I have to buy another whole string of lights.  Well, I got the white lights up and now I'm feeling a little Christmasy.


We had our friend Bob over for dinner tonight.  I usually make a new and fantastic dessert to try out on company but I got lazy today.  Probably because I spent so much time with those lights.  Bill was disappointed when I brought out the cranberry pecan cake I purchased a couple of days ago from Sam's Club.  Now I have major guilt.  I think this is the first time in my life I didn't make a fresh dessert when we had a sit down dinner for company.  I won't let that happen again.  I don't want to see that look on Bill's face again.  


I'm looking forward to having a few days off until I go back to work at the hotel.  Maybe I'll whip up that new dessert for Bill over the weekend.  We don't have to have company to have dessert. 


That pumpkin cheesecake recipe looked pretty good.

I Love the Water

Me, Labor Day 1979 - Provincetown, Mass.

My sign is Scorpio.  Scorpios love the water.  


For most of my life I lived inland, away from "the water."  


One day in 2005 I decided to uproot my whole life (and Bill's too) and move "near the water."


That's where I live now, on the coastal shore of the southern most county of Delaware, Sussex County.


I actually live two miles from the Broadkill River and three miles from the Atlantic Ocean.  But it doesn't take me too long to get to the boardwalk in Rehoboth Beach to soak up being near the water.


For the past few weeks, since I injured my wrist and right arm in a fall, I haven't been able to walk the boards in Rehoboth.  Bill took me down last Saturday early in the morning.  It was good to walk the boards again.  


My wrist and arm are slowly healing.  I can now drive but I still occasionally get unexpected sharp shooting pains in my left wrists if I turn my steering wheel too suddenly.  I have to be extra careful not to put myself in a traffic situation where I have to make any quick turns.


This morning I was organizing some of my old pictures and I came across the one posted above on this blog.  This picture was taken Labor Day weekend 1979 (31 years ago) in Provincetown, Massachusetts.  Back in those years when I was working full-time at a Girard Bank in Philadelphia, the only time to could go near the water was my summertime vacations to Cape Cod.  


I wasn't rich enough have my own boat thus the rented row boat with a motor.   That was just fine with me.  As long as I was near or in the water I was a happy man.  Just like now, I'm a happy man.  


Now it's time for my nap.

A Sense of Purpose

Dogs on the beach this morning

This morning I resumed my early morning visit to the boardwalk in Rehoboth.


I didn't go yesterday and my day was all out of whack.  


I had this brilliant idea that I would save gas and mileage on my car as well as reduce my risk for being in and accident by not going to the boardwalk every morning.  I was wrong.


So this is my new routine which I began in August when I got my new car, a Subaru Forester.


I go to the boardwalk before the sun comes up.  I walk the length of the boardwalk four times which is a total of four miles.  


The benefits are thus:

1. I'm getting my daily cardiovascular workout (also known as exercise)
2. I lose that roll around my middle (approximately five pounds of flab)
3. I breath in the fresh ocean air
4. I observe the Daily Show of the other denizens of the early morning boardwalk routine
5. I clear my mind for transcendental mediation (I do my TM on the hoof)
6. I take a lot of cool pictures
7. I might meet Somebody (only women so far, darn it)
8. It gives structure to my day - everything else I do during the day works better with this start
9. I am one with Mother Nature
10. I do some major People Watching

I measured the miles it takes from my home to where I park at the North end of the boardwalk.  To my surprise it is eleven miles one way.  I thought it was about six miles.  So I'm making a twenty-two mile round trip every morning.  No wonder I'm always filling up my tank with gas every third day.  

This is a small price to pay for the sense of purpose that I get every day now by going down to Rehoboth every morning and walking the boards.  

I love my life now.

Me by Lake Gerar this morning

Rainy Day on the Boardwalk

Walking the wet boards this morning

Just got back from a very wet walk on the boardwalk in Rehoboth.  


This weather doesn't bother me.  In fact, I like all kinds of weather.  Perhaps the only exceptions were this summer when the humidity was so high that I was soaked in my own sweat after only walking a few hundred feed.  Also, the extreme cold of winter, but that doesn't come until January and February.  All the other months and weather conditions are just fine with me.


I talked Bill into going with me this morning.  He didn't walk but he does me to take him for a ride.  He sat in my car at the end of the boardwalk and took a nap while I braved the wet wind whipping the boardwalk.  

Bill taking a snooze this morning while waiting for me

I usually take two laps up and down the boardwalk but this morning I was so wet after the first lap I decided to pull it in.  


I took Bill for a ride up to North Shores, at Cape Henlopen State Park.  Delaware is the only state in the union that doesn't have a national park but we have some wonderful state park, Cape Henlopen being one of them.


After viewing the wind and the waves at North Shores we headed home on Rt. 1.  Half way up One, my cell phone rang.  It was my brother John who is the executor of our Mom's estate  He had good news.  In fact he had WONDERFUL NEWS!  He is sending me a check in the mail today as an advanced distribution of my share of Mom's estate.  I will be able to pay off my mortgage!  


This is a very strange feeling.  It's a good feeling but a strange feeling.  I had a 30 year mortgage, that would be paid off when I'm 98 years old (I should live that long.)  My mortgage predicament was the result of me being caught in the housing crises in 2006.  I thought I would have to live with that result the rest of my life.  I feel like I've now been set free.


Free at last, free at last.  Thank God almighty I'm free at last.


Thank you Mom.  You're still doing for us.  

Sunrise on the Beach

Me this morning on the boardwalk in Rehoboth beginning my four mile walk

These days I have a new routine. 


I arise out of my nighttime slumber at 4:30 a.m. in order to be at the boardwalk in Rehoboth for my morning walk before the sun rises.


I love it.  


Where has this been the four years since I retired to lower Delaware?  


Each morning is different.  I remember asking my friend Jack Dawson, who lives on the Delaware Bay in a magnificent house, if ever got tired of the view.  Sitting in his living room you feel like you're on an ocean liner.  All you see is water.  Jack's answer was short and succinct.  "Never!"  


He said:


"Ron, there is always something different going on in the bay.  There are the change of seasons.  Some mornings the water is choppy.  Other mornings it is as smooth as glass.  And, of course, the birds always provide a constant source of entertainment."


I was fortunate enough to stay at Jack's home while my house was being built in 2006.  Jack and his wife Judy (a former classmate) were in Florida for the winter at their condo.  Jack was right, the view of the water never gets old.  You never take it for granted.  There is "always something going on."


This fact is a discovery I made since I began making a daily trip early in the morning to walk on the boardwalk.  Not only is there the Atlantic Ocean, there are the people.  What a parade of people.  Of course I am now one of THEM.  But what the hey?  


There was something missing in my life since I moved to Delaware four years ago.  I thought it was the lack of friends.  Oh, I have a few but I thought I would be the toast of the town.  Alas, those days are long behind me as I've aged to my present age of 68 years.  Maybe it's a combination of my personality and age.  I don't know.  What I do know is that I now feel a fulfillment that I haven't felt in a long while.

Beach Bum

Robinson Crusoe

All my life I've always loved the ocean and the beach.  Ironically I first saw the ocean when I was 24 years old.  I talked Bill into taking me to Ocean City, New Jersey.  That day was a disaster (this was the Jersey beach after all) but I was hooked.  A few years later we made a three hour trip to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.  The year was 1964.  I remember that day well because the temperature was 102 degrees.

Me at Rehoboth Beach 1964 - my first visit

Bill hates the beach.  I didn't go to the beach again until the 70's.  My good friend Big Bob bought some land and a used single wide trailer without plumbing.  Bob hated the beach too.  So my access to the beach was very limited.

During the 80's I began taking my vacations to Provincetown, Massachusetts.  I immediately fell in love with Cape Cod.   It was quite a trip to go to Provincetown.  I had to catch a plane out of Philadelphia and switch over to a commuter plane in Boston which would take me to Provincetown.

Me at Herring Cove, Provincetown, Mass 1974

At first I spent a week each year.  I gradually increased my vacation time in Cape Cod to two weeks.  My last vacation in Provincetown I took four weeks.  I loved it.  Unfortunately, when I returned to my job at the bank where I worked in Philadelphia, I was job eliminated.  I got a new job but didn't have any vacation time because I worked as a consultant.

Me in Provincetown, Mass 1980

I remember well on one of my days in Provincetown walking about the town I came across a tall, young, thin guy who looked a lot like me.  He was watering the flowers around the bed and breakfast where he worked.  I was thirty seven years old when I saw my look-a-like watering those plants.  I thought to myself, "That should be me.  What am I doing chained to a desk managing the back office operations of a trust department?"  


Another time I was on vacation I saw a guy much like me walking the beach early in the morning.  Again, I thought "That should be me."  But it wasn't me.  I was even offered a job in Provincetown on one of my vacations.  The owner of Angels' Landing (the rental complex where I usually stayed) offered my a job of managing the housekeeping of her rental units.  I was shocked by her offer.  I asked her why she offered me the job.  She said "You're the only guest I've ever had who left his apartment cleaner that it was when you checked in."  She also told me that the young guys would respect and listen to me.  She needed a manager.  That would be me.

Me on the bay in Provincetown, Mass 1976

I have to admit I was tempted.  But I was to brainwashed by the corporate mentality of having an "important job" at a bank and all the prestige and money that went with the bank job.  I turned down her offer.  Over the years I've often wondered how my life would have changed if I had taken her up on hr offer.

Over all these years I've often fantasized about living near the beach and wasting my days away as a beach bum.  Well folks, I think I've arrived.  It's a little late (I'm 68 years old) but I'm there now.

Me in Lewes, DE (where I work at a hotel) 2010

For the past two weeks I've gotten up early every morning and drove myself down to Rehoboth Beach by 7 am in the morning.  I'm hooked now.  Yesterday the rain prevented me from making my daily run to the beach.  I missed it a lot.  I'm hooked.

This morning I went back to the beach.  I felt like I had returned home.

Me on the boardwalk in Rehoboth Beach earlier this week 2010

It took me a long time but I have realized my dream.  I'm now a beach bum.  A well dressed beach bum but still a beach bum.  I have arrived.

Me on the beach in Rehoboth earlier this week 2010

Rehoboth Beach, Delaware 1964

Bill K. and Ron H. Rehoboth Beach, DE 1964

I'm often asked, "When did you move to Delaware?" My answer is that I officially moved to Delaware November 17th, 2006. That was the date I sold our house in Pennsylvania and moved into our new house in Delaware. What I don't say is that I made the decision to move to Delaware, specifically the Rehoboth Beach area, way back in 1964.

Growing up in the small town of Downingtown, Pennsylvania I always wanted to "go to the shore." I envied my schoolmates who had families that took them to "the shore" (aka "the beach) for holidays and in the summertime. My dad would go fishing with some of his brothers and friends off of Cape May, New Jersey but he never thought to offer to take any of his sons along. If he had, I would have gone along with him. The option of taking his family for a day of fun and frolic at the beach wasn't even considered. That was our "Pop." In our family, his needs always came first. Entertainment for his three sons was not one of his priorities. Not that I'm complaining, my brothers and I had plenty to keep us busy during the summer where we lived on 120 Washington Avenue in Downingtown, PA. Our favorite playground was the railroad tracks a couple of blocks behind our second floor apartment building on Washington Avenue. I never felt like I was deprived during my childhood but I do remember envying my friends who went to the beach and saw the ocean waves.

Me (on the right) and my brothers 1947 - this is as close as we ever got to "the shore."

The first time I saw the ocean was when I was 23 years old. In July of 1964 I met Bill, my life partner. He lived in Pennsauken, New Jersey. I lived in an efficiency apartment in Coatesville, Pennsylvania, a long way away from "the shore." I used to spend my weekends with Bill at apartment in Pennsauken, NJ. One weekend, looking for something to do, I asked Bill if he could take me to "the shore." Finally, I'm going to see the ocean!

My brothers and I and Mom - the closest we ever got to water - the park pond 

Thus, on a Saturday in August of 1964 Bill and I headed for Ocean City, New Jersey. The sun was out, the heat was on and the crowds in place. My first impression was "where has this been all my life?" I immediately felt at home. Maybe it had to do with that I'm a Scorpio and a water sign. Whatever the reason, I felt at home. The only problem was the lifeguards. Every time I went out in the water, the lifeguard whistle would blow. I wasn't going out far, just wading in the water. But once the water reached my knees the lifeguard would blast his whistle. I looked back to see what the problem was only to see the lifeguard, who was laying on his back, impatiently waving me back to shore. To me it looked like the lifeguard didn't want to move his head too much so he wanted me and all the other bathers in his line of view.



I walked back to where Bill and I had laid our towels on the beach and told Bill I wanted to leave. What was the point? I'm finally at "the shore" and I couldn't go in the water past my knees. We left and I haven't returned to the Jersey shore since that summer day in 1964. And I never intend to return especially now since "Snookie" and "The Situation" are what the Jersey shore is all about.



I hadn't given up on going to the beach. Instead, I decided instead of going to "the shore", is what you call going to the beach in New Jersey, that I would go to Rehoboth Beach.

Rehoboth Beach, DE April 8, 2010

A few weeks later, Bill and I along with my friends Ron H. and Ed C., headed to Rehoboth Beach, New Jersey. This was in August of 1964, long before Gayberry. This was even before Camp Rehoboth! This was even before Murray and Steve established their exclusive beach house circuit of friends. Wow, we were pioneers.

We loved Rehoboth Beach. Ron, Ed and I worked on our tans. Bill wasn't into baking in the sun. He only went along to please me. He couldn't care less about Rehoboth Beach or any beach. Bill's not a water person. The only problem was the 2 1/2 hour one way ride to Rehoboth Beach.

My friend Ed C. sunning himself at Rehoboth Beach, DE July 1964

That summer day in 1964 was my first introduction to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware and I was in love! Bill and I returned a few more times and then in the 70's my good friend Bob McC. purchased a 22 acre wooded parcel of land outside of Georgetown, Delaware. From that day on I often took advantage of my friendship with Bob and visited him, with other friends, at his single-wide in the middle of the woods. Occasionally I could talk him into dropping me off at the beach for a day of fun in the sun.

Me at Rehoboth Beach last week - older and grayer but the Dream is realized

I don't know the exact date that I decided that I wanted to retire to Delaware but I did make that decision. I thought "Someday, somehow, I will retire to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware." As I have found so often in my life, if you set a goal for yourself and work hard towards that goal, you will reach it. I had a dream and in November of 2006 I realized that dream.


I love every day I live here on the coastal shore of southern Delaware. My friend Ed C. has a home right in Rehoboth Beach. My friend Bob McC. still lives on his 22 acres of wooded paradise. My friend Ron H. passed away in 2005. Bill and I live six miles from the beach in Rehoboth. Bill still doesn't like the beach but moved here to please me. And that perhaps is the best thing that has ever happened to me. To be with someone most of my adult life who treats me like a prince.

Me catching some rays on my first visit to Rehoboth Beach, July 1964

So here I am, living at the beach with the one that I love. I have good friends, good health and a good job. Each day is like a vacation day. I worked hard for a long time to get where I am today. I take nothing for granted. I treasure each day I am privileged to live upon this earth. When my time comes, I will have no regrets. I have lived the good life. I am living the good life.

Me with my friend and neighbor Barbara at Rehoboth Beach April 2010