Bye Bye Blackberry

Dad finally did it for real. As of approximately noon today, EDT, he is officially retired. He hung up his Blackberry Monday and did his last signing out today. I assumed that as a crackberry addict, he would be missing his favorite toy, but to paraphrase him, it's like the lines holding your boat to the dock. They are important while you're there, but handing the berry over was like dropping the lines as you float away.

This afternoon, my folks signed the last of their papers and tomorrow they leave their house of almost 19 years for good. They are driving into the sunset (not a metaphor, just going west) with one very packed minivan. They have a reunion date next Tuesday, but until then, they really have no plans at all. Wow.

Their plan is to take it a little easy at the beginning and have some fun on the way. Among other things, they're going to stop and see the St. Louis Arch. In spite of all the travelling back and forth across the country, they've never been up in it, and there's no telling when they'll be back that way again. Pretty much all their relatives are now from Colorado west. Then they're going to give that minivan all it's got for the trip across Kansas, gas prices be damned. No offense to anyone in Kansas, but there's nothing to see but flat and Stuckey's and both get old pretty fast. Nobody wants to see that stretch of I-70 any more than necessary.

They'll be staying with my sister for a couple months and then moving on to their new place on Whidby Island, WA. It's at the north end of Puget Sound and the east end of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Plenty of ships and maybe even whales to watch. It's also in the "rain shadow" of the Olympic Mountains, so despite being only an hour or two from Seattle, it stays fairly dry. Plus you get to ride a ferry to get there. Fun all around.

I'm very happy for Dad and Mom today. I know it must be weird to be both unemployed and homeless, but it must also look like a whole new world of possibilities. Dad's had a long and distinguished career, from grocery store stock boy to director of construction for the U.S. Army's recreational facilities all around the world. He was in the Marines, the National Guard, and the Army. He even had a stint as a poor grad student. Probably some other stuff too, but most of it was before me, or before I was paying attention anyway. He's worked hard for this freedom and has made his family very proud all along the way. I know he'll enjoy this next phase and continue to get the most out of life.

Congratulations again Dad.

(I think he may be onto something. I think I'd like to give this retirement thing a shot. It looks like you just quit your job and drive away, although I could be missing something. Oh, and something about not having to give a damn anymore. I'll have to look into that.)