Update

522 Pine Drive

I Adored My Pine Lake Kitchen

It's hard to believe it has been more than eleven years since I sold my home at 522 Pine Drive in Mayberry on the Lake and moved to the wilds of mountainous northeast New Jersey. I miss my friends and acquaintance and the lake and my adorable little shotgun lake house. 

 I left Atlanta in mid-January wearing sandals and with the top down on my Mazda Miata. When I arrived  at our new home I almost froze to death just unloading my car. Then it showed and for some reason the snow did not melt for more than a month. This was a new experience. The moving van was unable to reach my house and I had to rent a truck and make three runs, loading everything myself. There was so much snow on the roof the gutters were threatening to come down and I was starting to think maybe I had made a mistake--but things rapidly got better. I have since prospered.

The New Lake House

Our house, which, like my Pine Lake house, was built as a small cabin in 1940, just four years after my Pine Lake house was erected, and expanded over the decades. It sits in Ringwood, in a lake community. The terrain is beautiful, far different from flatland New Jersey. We are surrounded by reservoirs, state parks, lakes, big mountains, and forests, and the state botanical gardens are 100 yards from our door. The Appalachian Trail runs a half-dozen miles from the house. I can park my car at the town library and catch the bus for $4.80 and be on Times Square in a little over an hour. I ride into the city (no way I'm driving!) to see plays and visit museums, and once to perform at St. Johns in the square. My song Dark Old Wind closes a not yet distributed movie called Finding Bernie, and I'm proud of that. I go to open mics regularly. Because I am married to a former vocal performance coach, my singing style has improved, and my guitar skills are a little better. I'm a songwriter, dammit, not a virtuoso!

 

I have now been retired for 17 years, and I'm loving it. I stay busy working in side the house and in he yard, writing, and exploring. I still own a Miata (not the same one, but identical in appearance) and I ride motorcycles when the weather allows. I have quite a collection. 

 

My marriage has been wonderful, and we are both satisfied. But Heather lost her job of 18 years in February due to AI fuckery, so not everything is perfect.

 

I have more weight to lose, but I'm a shadow of my former 400 pounds--245 at latest measurement. I now have a Pacemaker, so I'm happily bionic, but my old age is without joint troubles, sensory issues, or memory malfunction. I have no idea why I am so lucky, but I'll take it.

I am still getting published. 

 It's great to keep up with folks from Georgia on Facebook. Maybe I'll check in here again in a few years.