It’s pretty hard for me to be quiet or sit still. At all. Constant communication and constant motion have been the norm for so long. And even though I’ve just had major surgery I feel guilty. For the people I haven’t had time to thank or reach out to. For missing the podcast and my Saturday radio show with Ed and Zip. For not yet congratulating Spike on his enjoyable performance (below) filling in on KIRO FM with Curley. Having Spike cohost with anyone on KIRO is a winner. He’s funny, full of heart, and well known. They should make him a regular asap. Don’t know why I never thought of it before.
So I’m supposed to be resting, but I don’t know how to rest. I’ve had a few visitors trickle in. After I talk for an hour I crash for a couple of hours. Lisa is the gatekeeper. I can see someone for an hour in the morning, and another in the evening. At that rate I won’t see all the people I care about for a long while. Not that I have a list. If I did, I’d feel guilty about all the people I left off it.
Some random thoughts.
The world is changing so fast it’s hard to keep up. Or maybe I’ve been living in the country for 7 years, where people and business still interact pretty much the same as they have for the past 30 years. In person. That’s one thing we love about living in Vermont. The nostalgic simplicity of interacting with people face to face has been very soothing in this hectic clickbait world. It’s how you roll when you have a 38 acre farm that needs helpers and a handyman who turns out to be your best friend. No Task Rabbits. No Uber drivers. No Starbucks even.
My son Keith does everything on a App. I needed a special bed that keeps my torso elevated, something I will have to do for the rest of my days. The hospital will refer you to a business that rents them about for about 300.00 a month. Or you can look on Offer Up, a much cooler version of Craigslist. Found one I could buy for 250.00. And used another App called Task Rabbit to get a guy to move it in an hour. There’s Turo, an Airbnb like app for car rentals. And you can pay using Zelle or Venmo. If it’s PayPal you’re old.
Back to Stone Hill Farm. We love it. But we’re moving.
We know we can’t take care of all that land and attend to all those hobbies like we’ did 25 years ago, or even 2 years ago. We need to downsize and simplify. And our offspring and grandkids are in California. Let me tell you, an aggressive cancer and major surgery changes your priorities fast. Before the pandemic we were flying to LA to see them every 6-8 weeks. Now we want to live near.
But California? No way. Another priority that changes in your sunset years. You want to pay less taxes. Washington? Tempting. But again, sky high cost of living. Not that we’re poor. But the sunset years gene kicks in and warns us to be thrifty. Seattle is a world class amazing city, and we hope to visit often.
So what’s a tax friendly, reasonably economical place that’s a short hop to LA or Seattle? It would be great if there were stores Lisa could enjoy shopping in again. And I’d like to be near mountains as I rehab so I can gradually start hiking. And wouldn’t it be great to live close to a major airport with non stops to everywhere. You know what else we missed? Entertainment. From Vermont we would take a 7 hour train to Manhattan and see shows on Broadway. Most concert venues were 2 hours away or more. And we went. That’s rural living.
What if we found a place where we could see great shows, be near a major airport, and some nice hikes? Oh, and I’d like gigabit internet. And sunshine. Dry heat.
In case you haven’t guessed, we’re movin’ to Vegas, baby! We’re going from 8 acres with a pond to an 1/8th of an acre with a plunge pool. From maple trees to palm trees. And we’re treating it as a vacation that starts now.
Back to my Catholic guilt. Even though I’ve thought this through as the best move we can make for a million reasons, it’s scary. And I feel guilty, for all the people I’m moving away from, and the people I’m not moving close enough to. Lots of radio people are nomadic. Especially early in their careers because they’d get fired so often. So maybe it’s the sense of curiosity or adventure that I’d experience every time I got a gig in a new city that drives the idea now.
Please let me know if you are ever in Vegas, and know that I will surely feel guilty if we don’t get together. Any recommendations on the area also much appreciated. We know very little… We’re more familiar with Bangladesh. Been there twice.
Thanks for all your prayers and encouragement during this past few weeks. It helps a lot. So many of you have written that you or a family member are fighting similar battles, and my prayers go out to you too. Recovery going well. Like many of you, I’ll now be regularly screened and keeping my fingers crossed.
Next time… a few thoughts about planning the return of our Podcast. The Bob and Zip Show with Ed Kelly and Special Guest Spike O’Neill.
All the best,
Bob
