Is This Really Retirement

 I'm now in my mid 70's and it seems like I'm constantly working. It's not like before when I chased after jobs  now it's like jobs chase after me.Some of them are my neighbors having me paint their houses or do other small jobs but most of these jobs are my own projects. Car work sucks up a lot of my time.I've always have something to do on a car or truck.The little Chevy S10 is working out well now but I have to get the old 71 Chevy C20 and the 76 Dodge Aspen . They both need to get sold ! The Aspen is in service but the C20 isn't.Today I'm going to make it run and take it to the scrap yard to get all the scrap metal that I filled the bed with off. I need to use it soon for another job.Back in June I sold this 1970 Yamaha DS6C to a guy out in Southern California. He has finally worked out the shipping and the shipper only will pick up from a business address so I have to shelp this bike down to Home Depot for the guy to load it.Go figure.Well,it's a lot of additional work for me but as I think about it it becomes clear that it's good that I'm using the C20 for this.It forces me to get it on the road and begins the process of getting it sold. I want to use the C20 because it has a cap on the bed so if it's wet out the day I need to do this chore the bike doesn't get all wet and then rust on it's journey to California. I worked hard building this bike and it's all polished and looking like new.I want it to look that when the new owner gets it.I know it's out of my hands but I have to do what I can to make that happen so the Chevy C20  gets pressed back into service. 

This is one job ,yesterday I did another "job" I rebuilt the clutch in my 1971 Yamaha R5. It started slipping back in the spring so I just put it away in the shed for a while.I really wanted to get to it sooner but there were all sorts of other things in my way that needed to be dealt with. I finally put my foot down and yesterday I attacked this job.It went pretty smooth but took all day.It was the perfect day for this.It was really wet out and there was nothing else that I could do indoors so I lit the kerosene heater and made the garage comfortable to work in , hooked up my MP3 player to the speakers I have out there and dove in. It's all back together now as I sit here writing this.I'm waiting for the rain to pass and the road to dry some.The battery is on the charger and all I have left to do is put the battery in the bike and fill the transmission with oil.Keeping my fingers crossed that it's finally fixed.I used all used parts ,checked them and they are all within the wear limits listed in the service manual .Money is an issue these days,everything is way too expensive so I just make do. The greed of these stinking corporations is really getting out of hand and I will not support them it their rape of our country.Well,enough about these bastards and back to what matters to me. The rain is letting up,there are breaks of sun and nothing on the radar so in an hour or so I'll be testing my old 71 R5 and then turning my attention to the Chevy C20.I'd like to get it emptied today and all clean so when I'm driving it I can stick a 4 sale sign in the window.

My 1971 Yamaha in better days up at my camp.This is my bike of 1st choice for riding up in the Adirondacks. Sure will be good to have her back in service

Now on to another "job" I got roped into painting a neighbors house.It seems like it's never going to end and I'll still be painting houses and doing odd home improvement jobs until the day I die.Well I guess it's better than being inactive and deteriorating like so many others do.It does keep me in shape .Last week I was all over this house like a monkey going up and down the extension ladder just like I was doing when I was a 20 year old. Of course it's harder now and at the end of the day I feel it but the fact is I can still do it and I guess I should be happy for that. Well,this job is almost finished , there is just some odds and ends  left now. On & on it goes I have more to do now that I'm so called "retired" than ever .What I'd really rather be doing it this . leaving on a motorcycle trip to some new unknown place to explore. I'm still looking for a riding partner for a long distance ride but not holding out too much hope of finding one.So I guess I'll be going alone next summer or whenever I finally get to go.But know this,I will GO !