Introduction

I've been retired now for about 6 years. It was a difficult retirement at the start because there was nothing to do. You wake up and have breakfast, work out at Good Life, have lunch, watch "The Social," have supper and then the evening TV. That is the essence of my life. There are many retired people that do not have children or even family in the area it may appear there is not much to life. Thankfully I have my immediate family in this area.

Therefore, what I had to do was make some meaningful activities that would challenge my brain, body, and spirit, and in some way get back to being "productive." I knew it wouldn't be easy. When you retire your pension [if your lucky] is about one-third of your working income. For me I definitely didn't desire to be poor --- nobody does. So I gave up my car. It was tough to do because you get car shamed and there is nothing worse than an older man showing up on a bicycle or from public transportation. It is amazing how quickly you get shut out of some organizations. Sometimes your friendships, disappear if you show up on a bicycle. But lets not get hung up on that, there is worse. Housing also becomes your biggest bill. In Ontario, in a city you can easily pay one-thousand dollars an month for the rent of a tiny apartment. If you want some form of security, no bugs, good heat or air conditioning it costs a lot more.

There is alternative styles of housing as a senior. I chose living with University students in student housing. I chose this because I knew that I naturally could get along with them because I always have, especially when I worked as a cook during my last five years of working in a University kitchen. You save a lot of money on rent. One of my philosophies has always been "when you're with a group, you are stronger." We share the refrigerator, we share the dining room and living room, it is great. We each have our own bedrooms which allows a lot of privacy. Each of the students has been excellent and I can see with their determination they will be highly successful in the future. I strongly have learned to respect them. When the last female moved out of the basement, she was the fourteenth student through. Number fifteen student just signed the lease yesterday. Because I have a lot of life experience I look after cleaning the public areas. There has been some students keen to help me clean but most just let me clean because I'm good at it, [and fast]. Not every student facility will allow an old retired man to move in with their students --- creep alert! You must present as a credible option, with credible references, and be nice.

So, I do not have a car and live in student housing. Public transportation [after I learned the routes] is adequate. The bus drivers are friendly, the people you meet on the bus are also friendly. If I won the fifty-million in the lottery I don't think I would buy a car again. The students have all taught me a lot about myself, and life. Whenever I have a computer issue, they roll their eyes, smile, and help me. I don't remember being so kind or thoughtful when I was their age. When I was their age I was in the Canadian Navy and could hardly wait for the next port where, as a group we would visit strange but beautiful cities and eventually find a bar.

After my first three years of retirement and doing nothing except working out I decided to go back to school. In my apartment I was exposed to Canada's best student who were continually witnessing to me the beauty of studying. So back to school it was. I was out of school for about four of five decades. I had to quickly get my act together. Western University offers many helps [which are mostly Masters students] to get grammar skills and the skill of communication down.

When I make my blogs it will be a blend of what I'm doing and where, what is going on in the house [by permission of the students]. When I was previously in school [as a teeny-bopper] I was a protestor type. When I meet some students of my historical past they ask, "Are you still protesting?" I would like to say "Yes" because there is a lot to protest about. So I will talk about some issues of "the day." The first issue I will talk about will concern the "Residential Schools" issue here in Canada. My perspective will probably be a little different than others because I want to talk about the secrets and how they change in context over, "Years and Years."