My Last Slice of Pizza

My Last Slice of Pizza
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No Lemonade Please

This isn’t a story about turning lemons into lemonade. I’m not having any major problems in my life. I’m just itchy for adventure. My five-year relationship with my sweetheart Nancy and my daily life are about to be turned upside down as I embark on my adventure. I’m moving in with Nancy, which admittedly is pretty tame stuff even at 72 these days, but two months later I’m taking off for six months or more, alone.

Not long ago, over dinner at friends David and Eva’s home, the inevitable topic of aging became the topic for conversation. David, 75, dropped a bomb, “I think I may have five good years left.” He let that sink in before defining “good years”. He was referring to the time left in which he would likely be capable of meeting life’s bigger challenges.

When I said good-bye that evening I thanked David for sharing his truth about what I’ve always considered a senior’s last slice of pizza. David’s last adventure had been founding an inner city charter school ten years before, which had positively altered the lives of hundreds of boys and girls who would have otherwise been lost in an educational system on its last legs.

Where to Go

I began pondering my last slice of pizza in earnest during the many restless nights that followed. I became a writer fifteen-years ago, and a decade later a voiceover actor, after leaving a business career in my mid-fifties following my youngest son’s death at twenty-nine. My grief had devastated me emotionally and financially and I accepted that life, as I’d known it was over. I wasn’t in a relationship at the time and didn’t have any constraints on my time. What I did have was an overwhelming desire to alter my life to make it reflect the internal changes I felt. I’d dreamed of being a writer in college so I began to write. I chose a familiar topic that was a big part of my life at the time, sex, dating, and relationships after 50. I had a writing gig at AARP, and later became a regular contributor to HuffPost 50, About.com, and several other online magazines. Perhaps I was more of a blogger than a writer but the line separating the two has become fuzzy with the advent of the Internet and self-publishing. I was writing articles that millions of people were reading so I considered myself a writer.

Weighing my options regarding where to adventure outside of my home in the San Francisco Bay Area, and considering that I wanted to continue working, virtually anywhere in the world with Internet was open to me.

I’ve been visiting Mexico for forty years and have developed a passion for its warm people and rich culture, a blend of indigenous people and foreign invasion spanning more than a thousand years. Since my budget is limited the lower cost of living is also a consideration. And of course the weather is ideal. The Bay Area winter rains and colder temperatures have been affecting me more adversely physically and emotionally the last few years. Two weeks in Mexico in December no longer warm my bones sufficient to endure the remainder of winter at home.

What About Our Relationship?

Nancy’s and I have done a fair amount of couple’s counseling, where we’ve learned to work our issues out through emotional dialogue. We still empty our guns at each other sometimes before we calm down and speak from our hearts. We’re emotional gunslingers, that’s just our nature, but we always find common ground and work things out. Last week we agreed it was time to live together. Nancy’s home works best, so I’m moving in with her in August.

Two months after that I’m leaving for Merida, Mexico for six months alone. Nancy will visit me a few times while I’m away. I chose Merida for several reasons; perfect weather; it’s a large city (750,000 pop.) which satisfies my love of art, food, and culture; and the coast is a short distance away. I’m not fully fluent but my Spanish is adequate and will improve with daily use. I‘ll stay at a small hotel until I find an apartment. I’m going to continue working in Merida because I’m seeking adventure, not retirement. My voice acting, career is primarily recording audiobooks. I have a bedroom voice young women, the main purchasers of romance novels find appealing, so romance novels are my niche. But I also record spy thrillers and self-help books. I’m amused that I capture young women’s hearts portraying Fabio-type heartthrobs at 72.

Recently, Nancy tagged my impending trip, Peewee’s last adventure. I howled with laughter. She worried I’d be insulted. I was amused. While our relationship will certainly go through issues not yet known I believe it will deepen the trust and love between us. I accept I’ll feel lonely and that at times my heart will ache missing Nancy. Trust has never been an issue between us and won’t be even with thousands of miles between us. I’m not hoping to fall in love. I already am. I’m eager to immerse myself in a new culture, make friends, work, take Spanish, cooking, and art classes, and let my body absorb the Yucatan sun. I’m pioneering the way for Nancy and me to spend future Mexican winters together, but we’re open to the possibility of moving to Mexico permanently. Merida may or may not be our final destination but it’s a good start. Maybe we’ll stay in different places every year. It’s not important to know now. Too many people spend too much time planning futures that in truth really can’t be planned for many reasons.

The political circus in Washington also makes getting out of town now particularly appealing, especially since this circus is likely to continue in some form or another for years to come. I want to savor my last slice of pizza. I don’t want to squander it subjected to daily political stupidity. Like many Americans I feel I’ve lost my country to special interests, none of which seem interested in me. Their corporate stranglehold is creating mayhem for the majority of middle class Americans and it’s apparently unbreakable, i.e. healthcare and fossil fuel companies. President Trump doesn’t make me feel safe.

Is my adventure noteworthy enough to write about? I can’t say with absolute certainty, but while it will be an adventure for me, it might encourage other seniors to take a plunge into the unknown and have an adventure.

I’ll write about my adventure candidly.

Ken

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