Interstate Adventures

It was one of those long drives that made us question whether we wanted to go straight to bed or buy firewood when we got to the campground. As I was throwing together a cheese platter for dinner, Bruce made a gorgeous fire. The campsites were very close together. When our neighbor came over we thought he was going to complain about smoke drifting into his site. 

He said, “nice fire,” like someone with experience. He told us he was traveling in his sixth camper and this was his first Airstream. We welcomed his advice about which gas clubs to join and apps to download. He announced, “Campers are the best people.” 

He had recently retired. He was an emergency room doctor for a children’s hospital. He said he did not miss being on call all the time. His friend retired at 67 and died at 68. 

He looked at Bruce directly and said, “Man, you gotta make your plan. You gotta retire. You would be surprised at how much you can do and how much you won’t miss work.” 

But then he told us about how he did still work. He volunteered at a children’s camp for those with rare blood disorders.  The difference is now it is his game and his rules. No one calls him in the middle of the night and he doesn’t have to be somewhere all the time. Retirement for him is a state of mind, not a fixed thing. 

What a novel idea to be able to travel and to work in a way that continues to allow someone to share their gifts.

He was on his way home to Florida after visiting family in Illinois. He told us he was leaving early and hoped he wouldn’t wake us up. He was free to continue his journey.