10/22/11 - NNHS Newsletter - I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry

“We are lonesome animals. We spend all our life trying to be less lonesome.
One of our ancient methods is to tell a story begging the listener to say -- and to feel --
'Yes, that's the way it is, or at least that's the way I feel it. You're not as alone as you thought.''”

- John Steinbeck
(27 Feb 1902 - 20 Dec 1968)

Rolling Stone ranked it #111 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. It's the second oldest song on the list, and one of only two from the 1940s.

RETIREMENT OPTION

You can retire to Phoenix, IF...
1. You are willing to park three blocks away because you found shade.
2. You've experienced condensation on your butt from the hot water in the toilet bowl.
3. You can drive for 4 hours in one direction and never leave town.
4. You have over 100 recipes for Mexican food.
5. You know that "dry heat" is comparable to what hits you in the face when you open your oven door.
6. You realize that 4 seasons are: tolerable, hot, really hot, and ARE YOU KIDDING ME??!!

OR, you can retire to California where...
1. You can make over $300,000 per year and you still can't afford to buy a house.
2. The fastest part of your commute is going down your driveway.
3. You know how to eat an artichoke.
4. You drive your rented Mercedes to your neighborhood block party.
5. When someone asks you how far something is, you tell them how long it will take to get there rather than how many miles away it is.
6. The 4 seasons are: fire, flood, mud, and drought.

OR, you can retire to New York City where...
1. You say "the city" and expect everyone to know you mean Manhattan.
2. You can get into a 4-hour argument about how to get from Columbus Circle to Battery Park, but can't find Wisconsin on a map.
3. You think Central Park is "nature."
4. You believe that being able to swear at people in their own language makes you multi-lingual.
5. You've worn out a car horn (if you have a car).

OR, you can retire to Montana where...
1. You only have four spices: salt, pepper, ketchup, and Tabasco.
2. Halloween costumes fit over parkas.
3. You have more than one recipe for moose.
4. Sexy lingerie is anything flannel with less than eight buttons.
5. The four seasons are: winter, still winter, almost winter, and construction.

OR, you can retire to the deep South where...
1. You can rent a movie and buy bait in the same store.
2. "Y'all" is singular and "all y'all" is plural...
3. "He needed killin'" is a valid defense.
4. Everyone has 2 first names: Billy Bob, Jimmy Bob, Mary Sue, Betty Jean, Mary Beth, etc.
5. Everything is either "in yonder," "over yonder" or "out yonder." It's important to know the difference, too.

OR, you can retire to Colorado where...
1. You carry your $3,000 mountain bike atop your $500 car.
2. You tell your husband to pick up Granola on his way home and so he stops at the day care center.
3. A pass does not involve a football or dating.
4. The top of your head is bald, but you still have a pony tail.

OR, you can retire to the Midwest where...
1. You've never met any celebrities, but the mayor knows your name.
2. Your idea of a traffic jam is 10 cars waiting to pass a tractor.
3. You have had to switch from "heat" to "A/C" on the same day.
4. You end sentences with a preposition, like: "Where's my coat at?"
5. When asked how your trip was to any exotic place, you say, "It was different!"

OR, you can retire to Florida where...
1. You eat dinner at 3:30 in the afternoon.
2. All purchases include a coupon of some kind -- even houses and cars.
3. Everyone can recommend an excellent dermatologist.
4. Road construction never ends anywhere in the State.
5. Cars in front of you often appear to be driven by headless people who tear along at 25 mph.

..............Or you can keep working until you pass on.