Author Archives: jame4357

In my last post I mentioned the Doc deliberately watches things on TV that drive him a little crazy. It’s not like he’s watching something he enjoys and somehow accidentally hits the wrong button on one of those gadgets he uses and something annoying pops up. That happens more often than you might think. He’ll pick up the gadget, point it at the TV, push a few buttons, and the next thing you know people are speaking a foreign language. He talks to the TV, pushes more buttons, and, if he’s lucky, the food people come on. If he’s not so lucky, something else comes on and he starts yelling at the gadget. Eventually things work themselves out, the yelling stops, and we all calm down.
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The big tree is back. The folks brought it home a few days ago and I was immediately suspicious but decided not to alarm anyone until I was sure that it was THE big tree. Yesterday they started dressing it up so I think it’s safe to say we should be on the alert for fireworks.
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I was a little worried about the last piece I posted—the one about retirement. This column has always been about you, and the answers to problems or questions you might have. Phoebe and quarantine, RJ Squirrel and our preoccupation with chasing him, the mysterious problem of fireworks. The sorts of things I and my guys deal with and worry about on a daily basis. But when the Doc started in with the retirement thing and wouldn’t let it go I felt obligated to humor him, hear him out, offer what advice I could, and share the experience with my readers.
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In my last post I mentioned that the Doc has been talking about retirement lately. Not talking, actually. Either mumbling to himself or ranting to no one in particular. I’ve tried not to pay too much attention. He mumbles and rants about lots of things and this ‘retirement’ business seemed to be just one more. So what? He likes to rant, I like to bark at squirrels. We’ve never asked each other ‘why’.
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Those of you familiar with this column probably realize by now that you haven’t heard from me in a while. Months, (years, if you look at if from my perspective), and nothing. Silence. As though maybe I died, or did what the Doc is always muttering about, ‘retired’. I’m not sure what that means, exactly. Listening to him it seems to have something to do with his job. Specifically, not doing it anymore.
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