While I was walking yesterday, I passed two old men engaged in a game of chess. I’m not sure why, but it triggered a chain of thoughts on what life is really all about. I suppose it is no great insight that so much of our time on earth is nothing more than filling in the hours of every day. The manner in which we do so pretty much defines who and what we are. During our working life, a goodly portion of the day is filled with earning a living. Having a job or career that is satisfying makes a difference, but feeding the family has its own kind of worthiness, regardless of whether you like your job or not. It’s those other hours outside of work or sleep that give meaning to this thing we call life.

As I said, nothing new or astounding in these thoughts, but I did look back at how I’ve lived those hours. I recalled as a youngster playing board games like Monopoly and Risk. I also learned to play chess, but that was never a passion. As a teenager and young adult, I was big-time into softball and racquetball. And, of course, there were those years when I escaped into a drug-fueled fantasy world. I learned to ski, liked to camp out, and take cross country drives. The responsibilities of being a parent took their share of time as well. It was nice to look back and reflect on ways I’ve filled in time throughout my life.

Naturally, that led me to thinking about how I spend the hours in my old age. I don’t really ponder so much about how having less life ahead of you than behind you matters or makes each hour somehow more precious. Retirement affords the opportunity to expend time the way you want rather than dancing to the whims of your employer. The question arises, though, am I using them wisely? As my regular readers know, I spend my days engaged in walking, drinking, darting, and pursuing ill-fated romances. I guess I spend a fair amount of time here on the internet as well. Hopefully, as the scamdemic draws to a close, I’ll be able to once again invest some time in travel adventures. Is that enough? It is for me, at least for now.

That doesn’t mean you can’t change things up now and again. The desire for something new led me to forego my typical Saturday night in Barretto. Instead, I walked the 4K out to Calapadayan for the soft opening of a new outdoor bar called Poseidon. Heh, you knew I wasn’t going to not drink beer, didn’t you?

It was definitely a nice change of pace. Too far out to be a regular stop for me, but I had a good time and won’t hesitate to drop in when I’m in the area.

Alright, I’m running out of time. Need to get to It Doesn’t Matter before the raffle. I’ll be back with more tomorrow!