Day 5: What Do You Do? (Revised)
I played golf yesterday morning in the men's Saturday morning scramble at High Meadows. As often happens in scrambles, our foursome included a member that I did not know. Somewhere mid-round the guy (a Charlottean by birth and banker by trade) broke with golf etiquette and asked The Question You Never Ask:
"What do you do?"
For the past 40-odd years, the answer would have been automatic but, on this day, I was simply unprepared to be asked this question. After all, retired hardly seems to be something you "do". Rather, it's more like something that you "are". So, after a very pregnant pause as I pondered the question for the first time, I gave the man the honest answer:
"I don't know."
Following a brief explanation of my answer, we played on.
Last evening, the CFO and I attended the opening event of the Appalachian Festival in Boone. The festival is primarily run by a bunch of very rich Floridiots and the composition of the audience was amusing. The male Floridiots were all wearing linen sports jackets, ties and Italian shoes. The local Wilkes County guy in front of me was wearing a fairly new pair of Pointer Brand overalls with his carpenter's pencil still in the breast pocket. Me? I worn shorts, golf shirt and hiking shoes. Perfect!
The headliner for this evening was Doc Watson who lives about 10 miles away in Deep Gap. Joining him were his grandson, Richard, as well as Jack Lawrence from Huntersville. Every time we see Richard, he is more comfortable in front of an audience. I think part of that is that he has found his thing, da blues. And, he's good. Jack, on the other hand, has become Doc as a much younger man. And, as such, he is very good. Doc, at 82, has begun to slip a little, I think. But, when he on (as he was towards the end of the concert), he's the rabbit that ran so fast the hounds can't catch him.
Thanks for the memories, Doc. You are, indeed, a living national treasure.
"What do you do?"
For the past 40-odd years, the answer would have been automatic but, on this day, I was simply unprepared to be asked this question. After all, retired hardly seems to be something you "do". Rather, it's more like something that you "are". So, after a very pregnant pause as I pondered the question for the first time, I gave the man the honest answer:
"I don't know."
Following a brief explanation of my answer, we played on.
Last evening, the CFO and I attended the opening event of the Appalachian Festival in Boone. The festival is primarily run by a bunch of very rich Floridiots and the composition of the audience was amusing. The male Floridiots were all wearing linen sports jackets, ties and Italian shoes. The local Wilkes County guy in front of me was wearing a fairly new pair of Pointer Brand overalls with his carpenter's pencil still in the breast pocket. Me? I worn shorts, golf shirt and hiking shoes. Perfect!
The headliner for this evening was Doc Watson who lives about 10 miles away in Deep Gap. Joining him were his grandson, Richard, as well as Jack Lawrence from Huntersville. Every time we see Richard, he is more comfortable in front of an audience. I think part of that is that he has found his thing, da blues. And, he's good. Jack, on the other hand, has become Doc as a much younger man. And, as such, he is very good. Doc, at 82, has begun to slip a little, I think. But, when he on (as he was towards the end of the concert), he's the rabbit that ran so fast the hounds can't catch him.
Thanks for the memories, Doc. You are, indeed, a living national treasure.
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