When the General stopped working a few years before she was old enough to retire, I thought it was a good decision. It wasn't just the "happy wife/happy life" equation, but I understood her disdain for Austin traffic.
She worked downtown. On most mornings, when she arrived at work, it was in the early morning darkness. Without fail, there were any number of homeless people sleeping on the porch of the old house in which the law office where she worked was located. It had the potential not to be safe.
Like I said, the General had not reached retirement age, but she thought of her decision to walk away from employment as retirement. To be proactive, she bought jig-saw puzzles for us to work. Hey – I still had a job! I had no interest in jigsaw puzzles! I still don't!
I probably wouldn't have had an interest in ballroom dancing either, but I'd opt for that over puzzles. If my golden years were filled with putting puzzles together, I'd need medication for depression. I'd be praying the Serenity Prayer daily. On second thought, that is not a bad idea. I need to put the Serenity prayer on my invisible daily list.
As I reference dancing, images of "Dancing with Stars" from years ago and a couple dancing the tango come to mind. That looks like a dance I might enjoy! For starters, I don't think the dance would activate my lust level. Did I mention that Baptist don't always get it right? Honest to God, how they came up with some of the dos and don'ts is beyond me. In addition, I can't quite envision the General or me with a rose and stem in our mouth, but it would at least be a topic for discussion for our grandchildren. I'd like to be a butterfly on the wall to hear that conversation.
Isn't Rudolph Valentino still remembered for his tango scene in the Four Horseman of Apocalypse? I'm chuckling with the thought of the General and me dancing the tango. That would figuratively be a hoot and a holler.
In addition, I figure that the "Four Horseman of the Apocalypse" is more in sync with the conditions of today than it was in the 1920s. In addition, tango music is characterized by its use of syncopated rhythms that give the music a sense of rhythmic complexity and energy. Since the General wants to keep the synaptic connections in her head firing and sending off impulses simultaneously, what better way to do that than through tango music?
Write that off to fantasy. The General is not going to be open to taking up dancing to keep us physically fit and cognitively intact. She isn't going to do that! You might classify her as an "old school Baptist."
I might have been a little alarmed if the General had wanted to take up skydiving, but jigsaw puzzles? Really??? Thanks, but no thanks! If you want to maintain my interest, an Adrenaline rush is a great way to start.
I suspect the General is more worried about my synaptic connections than she is about her own. Every time the General makes out a grocery list with the intent of me going to the store, she goes the distance to make the list a difficult assignment that will require my synaptic connections to be at their best.
When the General added Emmentaler cheese to the grocery list, I didn't know where to start. I was familiar with Longhorn, American, Cheddar and Smoked Gudia. I was a loss.
I had never heard of Emmentaler cheese, but I'm smart enough (or paranoid enough) to know there is always a method to the General's madness. This was a TEST for me. She was checking on my synaptic connections.
Like I said, I'm not doing jigsaw puzzles. If needed, I will also ask for help at the grocery store to fill the scavenger hunt items she includes. On second thought, she might enjoy the tango.
All My Best!
Don
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