Page 8 - Boca ViewPointe - May '24

Page 8, Viewpointe May 2024
A Day In The Life Of…Me

By William A. Gralnick On one river cruise this spring, I will spend a goodly number I did eight years at the Sheriff’s Office. A common
of hours with a drink in one hand and my lists in the other. response to, “How are you?” is “’still on the right side of
My brother retired I speak much better than passable French and Spanish. the grass.” And that’s where I am, and I don’t even have to
several times until he got Can’t find clubs for them either, unless I enroll in courses mow it any longer. Ba da boom!
it right. From time one to at the university, which is not the use I most want to put My brother is gone, may his memory be remembered for a
success, he almost denuded my money towards blessing. It is for me to generate some of my own wisdom. The
his three-acre property by Tempus fugit. I turned 80. How odd it is that time goes first is easy. On any day when the temperature and humidity
chopping down trees. He was rehired by NBC News. Retiring faster but one’s body doesn’t. I’m already almost two months are lower than normal, throw open those windows, create some
once more, he had plans for the house that didn’t include closer to 81… The squares on my calendar are becoming cross ventilation to waft across you (even if you have to put on a
trees. He repeated Act Two and part way into Act Three he more and more cluttered with different activities. There’s the sweater), and enjoy it. It’s almost better than the smell of those
got lung cancer. His coup de gras for this bedeviling attempt Orthopedist for my knees, there’s the Occupational Therapist foods one doctor or another has told us we should stop eating.
to retire was climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro after training for for my digital arthritis, the eye guy for an ocular malfunction To those the government is about to remove from the
many, many months with a certified high mountain trainer. that I’d never heard of. It’s called blepharitis. Look it up if elderly column and push us up into frail elderly, I say this. If
Missing part of his lung, ¾ up was where he gave out and you’re curious. For this article, all you need to know is that you are happy in retirement, whether active or passive, you’re
was schlepped by Sherpas back to base and from base to it requires regular trips to his office and a type of electro- in a good place. If you are not happy and it is because of you,
hospital. From these experiences came this wisdom: when shock treatment to open up the astounding number of tubes not what might be wrong with you, I strongly suggest not
you retire know what you are going to do when on day one that keep one’s eyes moist. I of course have a cardiologist going to the hardware store and buying an axe. Let’s face it,
you put your foot on the floor. who treats my A-fib and circulatory issues and a neurologist for multiple reasons, tree chopping is a bad idea, one of which
As the Southeast Regional Director of the American who treats my tremors. Finally, for the moment, we add the is you can bet it’s gonna get the folks in the HOA very angry.
Jewish Committee, I met many people who came to my staple of every 80-plus male’s life—the urologist. Do this. It won’t take but a half hour. Think of the things
chapter from elsewhere. My brother’s wisdom became Also common at my age is having a raging case of you can do. Make a list and prioritize it. Then pick the one
an emblazoned truism, those who knew what they were CRS, which unfortunately I can’t translate for you in this that gets high marks for both doability and enjoyment. Then,
going to do with their lives when they got here were happy family paper. I can tell you the first two words are can’t and as Nike says, “Just do it!”
transplants. Those who were going to figure it out, once remember. On average I leave the house 3-4 times until I
they got here, were not. have everything I had set out to take with me, assuming I Columnist and author Bill Gralnick was born and raised
When I retired I already had a plan. I would divide my remember what they were in the first place. Makes me crazy in Brooklyn, NY. He is writing a three-part humorous memoir.
retirement into thirds: family, friends, and vacations; involve but I’m still on the right side of the adage that it’s normal The first is “The War of the Itchy Balls and Other Tales from
myself in “give back to the community activities; read, write, at this age if you can’t find your car keys. However, ‘not a Brooklyn.” Just published is the sequel, “George Washington
and learn. “The best laid plans…often go awry.” George good thing if you find them and can’t remember what they Didn’t Sleep Here.” Both are available on Amazon. You can
Bernard Shaw. In quadrant one, we got an A in vacations. are for. Ba da boom. find his writing at https://www.williamgralnickauthor.com. 
Once retired, we did a week or more mostly visiting Europe.
As for family, they were mostly not nearby. They also had
something in common with our friends. Both had their own
friends. Neither family nor friends were sitting here bored ª
to death awaiting our arrival… It took a while, but we have
knitted together a social life, my wife’s being far more social Two Boca Raton Offices: 151 N. Ocean Blvd. • 21073 Powerline Rd. #63
than mine.
But that’s why I had other categories. I would fill in by “dedicated to Results”
finding speaking gigs. I could help out at an animal shelter. Boca Pointe Resident & cluB MeMBeR juSt LiSteD
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I did have one more category for this section, reading. I SOLD $750,000
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as judged by England’s Guardian Magazine. It can be slow FULL SERVICE AGENT SOLD 7917 Travelers Tree Dr. SOLD 23291 FeatherPalm Ct. SOLD 7880 Travelers Tree Dr
going but is fascinating. I’m about 50 books in. Somewhere Ilene Polito SOLD 4776 Sierra Lane SOLD 22652 Esplanada Circle W. SOLD 6670 Villa Sonrisa
on the list is writing books. I’ve done a lot of writing. A (561) 302-6669 SOLD 22991 Clear Echo Dr, #86 SOLD 7675 Via Grande
writing “help” program called Grammarly, which makes ILENE@BOCAHOME.COM BocaRatonRealEstate.com
suggestions, corrections, and keeps track of “stuff,” told me
that in the years I’d been using it, I’ve written seven million
nine hundred thousand words! Frankly, I was impressed. And
I had already written two books before I started using the SHINE & SEAL
program. Why writing? My mom was serious when she said
children should be seen and not heard. There were times when
she was more like WC Fields who said, “Children shouldn’t
be seen or heard—ever.” My writing therefore is what I call Pressure Cleaning and Seal Coating Specialists
observational. I write my blog, mostly on politics, and play
with my website williamgralnickauthor.com. Before
Having just finished the third book of a memoir trilogy, I Revitalize Your
now have to decide if I am going to write columns and enter Transformative
them in contests, which is a lot of fun, or write more books. Home
I have two in mind. Yes, I should have made that decision Get long-lasting Pressure
before I finished Book Three. Oh well. Cleaning
There is another piece in this category. It is learning. I protection against the by Local Trusted
decided to try and fulfill a deathbed promise made to my elements, prolonging
grandma. I would learn to speak Yiddish. I found a free the life of driveways, Professionals
program and was going great guns until came Covid. I walkways, and
started writing books in earnest. Now I am going to review outdoor spaces.
what I’ve done in Yiddish and then pick up where I left After
off. Unfortunately, I cannot find a local Yiddish club for
beginners. I belong to a Yiddish club online but the guy Affordable Package Deals
who runs it makes me absolutely, coo-coo bonkers so I just Long-Lasting Seal Coating
collect the vocabulary and sayings he so kindly distributes. Before
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