Digging into the Past...and Reflecting...Thank Goodness without a Mirror!

When retirement comes opportunity to do many different kinds of things and take time to do things that weren't possible in a busy, "full" life. I am currently in the midst of one of those opportunities visiting places that were special and important to me.

Looking SW towards the river

El Paso, Texas, was my hometown and I just spent about a day and half in the area for the first time in about 10 years. I didn't come with much of an agenda...more of a let-the chips-fall-where-they-may idea. I did want to take in the views from several vantage points and there was one cemetery I wanted to visit. Yes, that is weird I know, but I have always found them fascinating places full of interesting facts and stories. This spot was of a personal nature because, just recently, online I had uncovered my great-grandparents resting spot, one of many missing facts (to me) in the life of a somewhat mysterious couple as far as family history was concerned.

I-10 looking west to Franklin Mts.

I limited my visit to the east side of El Paso this go-around because I hadn't spent any time there in probably 25 years! My parents moved to the west side in the 1980s and my visits were centered from there. The Franklin Mts., the Rio Grande River, and Ft. Bliss (plus other military entities) make for an interestingly laid-out city!

The cemetery was not difficult to find...it just never had been one that I went by often. In getting there I knew the street and general area. Of course I verified my thoughts by looking at the online map...what any good librarian would do! And with online maps and reality, the two are hardly ever in sync! Major road construction that sent me around and about to parts of EP that I had not driven thru over 40 years! A pleasant secondary discovery was ending up on the campus of Texas Tech Medical School. I had seen bits and pieces of clinics, etc. around town but never the official facility itself. Although tightly spaced (unlike the university itself) it was a pretty set of buildings that reminded ME both of the Lubbock campus as well as the unique early beginnings of the local UTEP campus.   

If you are into historical information from the point of view of cemeteries, here is a blog posting about Concordia Cemetery I discovered awhile back while one of my many virtual journeys to random places in search of random information to support the many random thoughts I tend to have...regularly!

I "lived" under the "A"

A note about the "A"...stands for Austin High School, my alma mater. At one point, all high schools had letters, but as the city grew and the number of schools increased, plus the aspects of safety and preserving the mountain, city leaders decided that letters had to go. So they faded into the sunset...except the "A"...it's on private land!

And, wow, is this post an example of rambling reflection!!

Note: This post was written July 23, 2012. Lack of technology held up the posting.

Photos: Personal files of VWB

What a Difference a Year Can Make

A baker's dozen months ago, I started a radical and very different (for me anyway) way of life called retirement. Not only did I end a career lasting 36 years that I loved, but I picked up and moved to a new location, basically because of the "why not" notion. So many new "things" and people coming from many directions made for some tense moments...days...weeks. As scary as it was to make these major changes (and it was scary!), it has been a very good year.

As I have said many times in the last year to neighbors and old friends, I "bought" a lifestyle and a cute little house came with it. I live in an active adult community, aka a retirement community, and, as I and some in my circle fondly call it, the compound! Central Texas...on the edge of the Texas hill country is the location. Quite a departure from the Gulf coast area of Houston, my residence for the last 32 years. I spent a lot of the first year putting on the finishing touches to my house, creating a yard, and finding places for all my stuff while battling the effects of the worst drought seen in the area and the state in any one's memory! Just an added little extra all of us had to deal with in our various lives, wasn't it?!

Some of my Hill Country neighbors!

I took on some new challenges although none of them changed the future of the world or mankind. I promised myself I would do some new things so I played at things like jewelry making, growing flowers that would live longer than a month, and country line dancing. I "studied" and practiced square dancing, quickly realizing that it is a lot of fun for me, whether I get "good" or not, and it fits into my promise to get up and exercise more. I attend water aerobics at least twice a week (and there were weeks I went 5 times!) and I try to walk 2-3 miles every day.

Creating a colorful new yard

 My guilty pleasure that I added to my new life for no other reason other than I just wanted it is my golf cart named "Charlie Brown." I love riding around the compound with, or without, neighbors and friends. I can go to classes, do banking business, mail things, and visit with the four-legged residents of my neighborhood by just jumping in Charlie and pushing the go pedal. In a couple of months I will be able to visit Walgreens and all it may contain. Life would be perfect if I could just buy groceries...o, and visit the public library where I volunteer.  But that's ok...makes me appreciate what I can do by carting down the road. It is a good thing that since being retired, I am no longer in a hurry...especially when using my cart...it is not a souped up model. Sometimes when going up a hill, my passengers and I often question whether we might have to get out and carry Charlie up the hill. No matter, it's all a part of the adventure!

Charlie Brown & I take a spin

For most of my working days, I was knee-deep into the happenings of school libraries...working with students and teachers, administering the behind-the-scenes necessary tasks, and helping others accomplish the same kinds of things. It was a major source of my being so I couldn't completely walk away. Instead  because of the luxury of being retired, I only do things I want to do library-related. Over the course of this remarkable year, I have breathed lots of public library air doing various things for the wonderful Georgetown Public Library. Yes, I shelve books, but the addition of a bookmobile as the means to add a branch, gave me an opportunity to work in the technical services area of the library as well. I have even done some ride-alongs  on the WOWmobile and assisted patrons in obtaining cards and selecting books!

The Words on Wheels mobile!

Well, this stroll down memory lane of my first year of retirement has gone on long enough for now. I intended to ramble about a few other things, but the evening has slipped away and tomorrow holds another opportunity for new adventures. So that's all for now. I have a pretty good list of other things I want to share (and some of them have some "real" purpose behind them!)

Stay tuned!

P.S. Gee, it has only taken me a year to get some pictures into this blog...I did say retired life means slow life!

Images - personal files from VWB

We Will See...

What Would You Like A Little More Of in Your Life?
The statement made by the presenter I am currently  listening to.

My answer: Blogging!
Yes, 10+ months  since my last post. There are many reasons why and I won't necessarily go into them at this time! Suffice it to say, I am going to post today. I intend to get back into the blogging saddle but... We will see...

#1 In the months I have been away, Blogger has undergone some major format changes and I don't even recognize the backside. A learning opportunity for me! I am trying to look at this change positively. That is what the speaker wants us to do. Not sure this post will be fancy (i.e. pictures and links)...might be too much for my brain to take in all at once! We will see...

#2 Time. Believe it or not, I haven't had a whole lot of time to blog. Retirement is a full time job these days...don't have time to compose a worthy message although I have had LOTS of random thoughts that I would say to myself would be good ideas for posts, but those moments flew away as quickly as they came. Maybe I will be able to recapture some of them. We will see...

#3 A VIP in my life has challenged me to write again...and since I always have done what he has told me to do...here I am doing what I was told! How well I do it (as in how often), well, we will see...

Ok, so now a little more meat in this post.
The second session speaker's quote that caught my attention:
Are we like the "frog in the bottom of the well?" 
Of course that caught my attention because of the frog part, but if you think about the statement itself, is your view of life limited to only what you see through a narrowly focused "lens"? Something for you to think about within your own framework.

Another interesting term from this speaker...
Did you know that as a Librarian each time you meet with a teacher one-on-one, you are doing conceirge professional development! I like that thought...positive term, point-of-need, personal time kind of idea.

Oops, one more
There are many ways to be a leader. But BEING A LEADER is not negotiable. (Emphasis was the speaker's.) Most folks in my circle are leaders these days, and good ones, and came to the position in a variety of ways. There are a few who are reluctant to take on the position and it is a difficult place to be these days. That's my observation only.

Where am I getting these kernels? I am attending my favorite library event...Texas Association of School Library Administrators in Austin this week. A whole room of school librarians and their brains! It is always such a good learning (and often by accident) experience. Yes, I'm retired, but the need for knowledge doesn't stop...and I'm not the only retired person in the room!

If you want more information about the speakers:
Sandy Slough from Region 20 ESC talked on Coping Skills for Today's Challenges
Kristin Fontichiaro, Univ of Michigan School of Information, Envisioning Solutions and Translating Ideas into Strategies....more specifically,  Growing Schools with PD, Librarians as Professional Developers. The first link is her slides, the second information she co-edited.

Hummm...
An interesting question just posed by Kristin.
How many of you were trained in how to present professional development? A room of about 60-70 library leaders... ONE hand went up...mine! Wow! A very interesting result to me.

Another hummm...
She spent a few minutes talking to the group about the 23 Things model of PD...
Might need to get my hands on the book and read that chapter!

Ok...enough for my first time back...that and the fact that this post is rambling. I will do better on my next one...there will another one...now when and what it will be about...we will see!