May Day was MY Liberation Day. I'm FINALLY Retired!

Warning: This means you will see more of me here, and maybe even in person.

When I was really little, my promised retirement age was 62. Then it got bumped up to 65. Then 66. Then 66 and 8 months. Then 66 and 9 months because I had to wait for Social Security to incorporate the Social Security Fairness Act(thank you Senators Brown & Vance) into their system so I wouldn’t get dinged for having a pension that I paid into.

But it finally happened. I finally retired from the PMC. I’ve worked full-time for the last 43 years straight, after a couple of failed stints at grad and law school. 26 years of that have been in “public service,” nearly all of which was in one of three Child Support agencies, ever since 1999.

I can freely talk about that experience now, and what I’ve learned from it, but later…later. Right now I’m just celebrating, and experiencing the weirdness of not having a schedule imposed upon me by higher authority.

People who’ve been where I am tell me it will take at least six months for my new reality to set in, and that I will experience something like the grieving process, for now all the sudden a lot of things that have been my reality for most of my life are suddenly just gone.

They are undoubtedly correct, but for now my focus is on a ride on a steam train in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park this evening.

Eventually I will add a feature or two to my Substack, and I definitely want to try doing some historical trivia again, probably in the form of a live chat, but I have to create my own new routines and schedules first before I can choose between days and times.

In any case, I will no doubt be both writing and traveling more—by car—so maybe I will even have the privilege of meeting some of you who are within range. The first trip I really want to take is a return to Mackinaw Island and vicinity sometime this summer(it appears all of those foreign tourists boycotting Trump’s America is exerting downward pressure on hotel prices), and one of these days I’m going to explore Pittsburgh.

I had a French-Canadian ancestor at Fort Duquesne, you see, and he may even have been involved in George Washington’s first defeat back in 1755, so there is a family connection. Besides, Pittsburgh’s a pretty city and they have great sports mascots.

Steelers, Pirates, Penguins, come on, those are cool mascots. Anyone have Pirates tickets?

Regardless, I look forward to having more time to interact with more of you, and perhaps most dangerously in authoritarian eyes, to think. I just had to let you know.

Thank you for reading, good day or night, good luck and please wish me some.

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