Jim Harmon's Contibution

Sharon Riddle asked me to write an article. She said I could write on anything my little heart desires. That’s a long list. Then she told me to keep it clean.

Things I Learned After Retiring

What I Did On My Summer Vacation

I’ve now been retired for 4 ½ years. Before I retired, I had 3 interests in mind for my retirement years:

The body. When I graduated from high school, I weighed 145 lbs. At retirement, I weighed 220. After working on my body for 4 ½ years, I now weigh 245. I have found it convenient to hang my clothes on the exercise equipment. Kay can no longer complain that I leave my clothes on the floor all around the house. My clothes are in the exercise area and well off the floor.

My weight isn’t healthful. I should weigh about 190 lbs tops. I have changed my weight to 110 kilograms. That’s even better than 190!

I’ve pretty much given up on improving my body – I wouldn’t want the family to bury a healthy one.

I’m not dying by inches; I’m dying by body parts. First, it was the gall bladder. Then my left shoulder - it’s now titanium. Then 2 new lenses to repair cataracts. That was after 4 eye surgeries to reattach two detached retinas. In the shop, I was cutting a blind dado (you woodworkers know what that is) on the table saw, did something stupid that resulted in my hand’s getting too close to the blade. The blade went through the first segment of bone in the little finger of my left hand. And two tendons. And 90% of the remaining tendon. I’m left-handed. It was virtually severed. I was out of duct tape, so I wrapped it in a dishtowel and drove to the emergency room (no one else was home at the time). “We” (the doctor and I) decided to try to save it. I told him that, if at anytime in the recovery period, he decided to take the finger off he should let me know. I have proven myself capable of amputation. No need for expensive medical attention. Hey, I’m doing my part to get these healthcare costs down. I told him that if it had to come off, I wanted the finger. I had found a fellow in Missouri who freeze-dries pets. He told me he could freeze-dry my finger. Then I could carry it around in my pocket and, when someone commented that I had lost my finger, I could tell them “no, I have it right here”. Or, I could attach Velcro to the stub and to the finger, attach the finger and then ask a kid to pull my finger. Oughta set that kid back about ten years. JUST KIDDING!

The finger has healed, but is minimally functional. With my thumb on the near side of a glass or can and three fingers on the other side, the curled little finger fits nicely under the glass or can. Now at the end of my left arm is a very expensive cup holder!

And now, my nose. I had a little basal cell carcinoma that turned out to be wide and deep. I am now without about 1/3 of my nose and am headed for reconstructive plastic surgery. And it was such a beautiful nose, too. I do a mean Michael Jackson impression!

Portfolio Management. I spent only a couple of days looking into day-trading before deciding that that would be financial suicide for me. I not only gave up on day-trading (without ever trying it), but turned my portfolio over to the pros (mutual funds). So much for that anticipated retirement activity.

Family History. Sticking with it. Have found many relatives. Bad news is – they’re dead.

So much for my pre-retirement dreams. I have taken up two new activities since retiring.

I spent the first two summers building THE BENCH. Kay’s closet has a column of adjustable shelves. She wanted one more shelf. I made an exact duplicate. About 6 inches wide and 2 feet long. It is beautiful. I figure it cost $18, 385.27. I told the tax assessor that it was a 60-cent board.

Schools. Very soon after retiring, I began volunteering in the local school system. I work with at-risk students. They are at risk of being smacked by me! When a school board member died, I applied for his remaining term and was appointed. A year ago April, I had to run for election to the board, did so, and won. There are times when I remember why I retired.

This is a lot about me. I would have done an article about you, but I don’t know as much about you as I do about me. Now is your chance to get even – tell us about what you’ve been doing since retirement. Or what you did before retirement. Or any dirt you have on any of our classmates. Or…

******** SEANOTES E- TRAVEL LETTER *******************

Specially prepared by Barbara Arendt, ACC

Cruises, Plus - Cruises, Tours, Scuba

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Editor's Note: Aloha! I'm back from a whirlwind trip to Hawaii late last month.

My main goal was to take in some scuba diving. Hawaii has never been a top

rated dive destination, however, my feeling is that, if there's water, there's

diving! What the waters lacked in warmth (a cool 73 degrees) and colorful

coral reef, it made up for in the large population of exciting "wildlife"

below sea level. We were entertained by a pod of dolphin, cruising reef sharks,

numerous octopi, frogfish, rockfish, dolphin fish (the eatin' kind!), friendly green

sea turtles and loads of the most colorful fish I've seen in a long time. I thank

Ed Robinson's talented crew of marine biologist/dive masters for in-depth instruction

as to what we would be seeing in and out of the waters around Hawaii. Hawaii

has plenty to offer above sea level, such as whale-watching, helicopter

tours, luaus, kayaking, hiking, rain forest exploration and of course, golf. I

encourage anyone to visit our 50^th State. There is absolutely something for

everyone!

NEWS YOU CAN USE:

SARS UPDATE: Travel Advisories are still in effect for the following: Taiwan and Mainland

China including Hong Kong. Basically, an "advisory" advises against travel to these places

at this time. Travel Alerts (a downgrade from an Advisory) have been issued for Toronto,

Vietnam, and Singapore. An "alert" simply alerts travelers to the outbreak and how

they can take extra precautions to reduce their risk of infection and what to do should

they become infected.

WHEN GIRLS BEHAVE BADLY! Non-credible threats were what caused a Royal Caribbean

Int'l ship to call in the FBI to divert to Honolulu for an investigation. Two notes, containing non-

specific threats to the Legend of the Seas, were found in an onboard restroom en route

to Ensenada, Mexico, to Hawaii. Turns out a disgruntled 20-year girl from California, onboard

with her parents, was trying to shorten the length of the cruise so she could get home earlier

to see her boyfriend. The girl's parents remained onboard to finish out their cruise. The girl

was escorted to a Honolulu courtroom, where charges of terrorism were slapped against her.

She faces up to 20 years in prison and a substantial fine.

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Seasonal Cruises -

Celebrity Mercury, 9/21/03, 7 Nt Pacific Coastal just $500 Interior up to $900 Balcony

Legend of the Seas, 5/19 - 11nts, Hawaii to Vancouver just $799 Interior/$899 Oceanview

Legend of the Seas, 10/1 - 11 Nt, Hawaii to Ensenada just $799 Interior/$999 Oceanview

Nordic Empress, 10/19 - 13 Nts Repositioning New York to Miami just $799 Interior/Oceanview

Europe 2003 -

Splendour of the Seas, May 31; June 7, 14; 7 Nt Mediterranean just $699 In/$799OV/$1599 Balcony

Caribbean -

Adventure of the Seas, June 22, 29; July 6 from just $799 In/$999 OV/ $1199 Balcony

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**Senior Special Rates this summer…just $749 In/$899 OV/ $1049 balcony…many ships and dates!!

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Fall Caribbean/Panama Canal Savings - October - December

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**New 7 Nt Caribbean aboard the new Zuiderdam this summer from just $749!

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CALL FOR LAST MINUTE ALASKA DEALS FOR MAY!

Sail the Sunny Caribbean this Summer aboard the Grand Princess

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** Past Guests - Ask about 2-1 Pricing on Alaska CruiseTours this summer / fall!!

Try a Relaxing, Casual European River Cruise - Take Advantage of these STEALS!

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These prices include all land/cruise components - Discounted transAtlantic airfare available:

Romantic Danube (Budapest to Nuremburg or reverse, 7nts) from just $1274 per person

Danube Explorer (Vienna to Nuremberg or reverse, 7 nts) from $674 per person

Rhine Getaway (Basel to Amsterdam or reverse, 5 nts) from $599 per person

Departures Summer Through Late Fall!

** TeleSports - Packaged Tours Straight To Your Favorite Sporting Event **

U.S. Open Tennis Tournament Packages - Men's Finals!!

3 Nights at the New Yorker Hotel - Upper Level ticket to U.S. Open Sep. 6 (Mens semi/Ladies final)

Upper Level ticket to U.S. Open Sep. 7 (Mens final) - All Hotel Taxes

$975 per person based on double occupancy

** Pleasant Holidays - Taking You to the Pacific in Style **

Picks of the Week!

Kaanapali Beach in Maui - 6 Nts Aston Kaanapali Shores, Car Rental, Taxes and Airfare!

$875 from Los Angeles - $1150 from Chicago - $1120 from Omaha - $1225 from Miami

*travel now through June 5, 2003 - certain airline security fees not included - based on double occ.

weekend travel higher priced…

Cook Islands (Raratonga) - 7 Nts Edgewater Resort - Taxes- Transfers- Airfare!

$1280 from Los Angeles. Travel by May 31. Certain restrictions apply.

Australia - "2 Weeks DownUnder from $1799" is back! Los Angeles Airfare included - Other

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4 Nights Sydney - 4 Nights Melbourne - 4 Nights Cairns. Hotel, taxes, transfers and domestic

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