Today’s subtitle is a line from Bull Durham, one of my favorite films. I watch it at the beginning of every major league baseball season. I haven’t seen it yet this year, but I will. Oh, yes, I will.
In the movie, Kevin Costner’s character, the veteran catcher Crash Davis, is schooling Ebby Calvin “Nuke” LaLouche, the rookie pitcher played by Tim Robbins, on clichés to use when speaking with reporters. The full quote is:
“I’m just happy to be here. Hope I can help the ball club. I know. Write it down. I just want to give it my best shot, and the good Lord willing, things will work out.”
As they do. Most of the time.
It’s just that you never know, when you’re making a decision, if they will. Although … can you tell I’m thinking out loud here? The young folk call it ‘riffing’ … things always do work out.
Just maybe not the way you want.
I’m getting a passport. I’ll be 74 years old next month, and I’ve never had a passport. I’ve completed the application and made the appointment to submit it in person at a post office in a city near me. If you’re a passport virgin, you have to show up in person.
I wonder if babies have to show up in person.
I had a passport conversation with my daughter two weeks ago, who said, “I would get one. It won’t hurt to have it, even if you never use it.” You probably don’t have to guess why we were discussing it.
Now that the passport ball is rolling, I do want to use it.
Foreign travel has literally never interested me. Even domestic air travel is something I’ve avoided as much as possible. I love to fly, but I would rather be the pilot than a passenger. Low and slow is my preferred method of celestial navigation.
But I will soon have a ticket to ride, so to speak, and the decision I need to make is not where to go. Pretty much anywhere outside the United States will do, and I don’t even need to fly, necessarily. A car can get me to Mexico or Canada, and a ship can take me to nearby island nations.
The decision is whether to go.
The decision is do I spend the money?
I’m not alone in having a tough time spending retirement savings. This article from CNN offers some insight into the dilemma. I’m living comfortably now on my fixed income, but there’s not a lot for extras, and nothing in my budget suggests I’m heading for Europe or South America or Asia. Or even Canada or Mexico or Iceland. I would have to dip into an investment account to hop across the pond.
What I don’t know – and none of us knows – is if I’ll need that investment money for future health care expenses. That truly is the biggest concern keeping me at home. The current political climate does not engender confidence at all when considering aging. Not a day goes by that one or another elected lawmaker doesn’t threaten Medicare and Social Security. If you’re not retired yet, you can’t truly understand the anxiety those threats induce.
[Stepping on soapbox.]
Universal health care would totally eliminate this concern, and SO MANY OTHERS. If you’re stuck in a job you hate because you need employer-provided health insurance, you might want to advocate for Medicare for all. If you or someone in your family has a pre-existing medical condition – asthma, diabetes, a congenital heart defect, or a previous surgery, for instance – you might want to advocate for Medicare for all. If you care about the health and well-being of your fellow citizens, you might want to advocate for Medicare for all.
[Stepping off now.]
I often say that none of us gets out of here alive, but getting out of here almost always involves medical procedures, hospitalizations, treatment of one kind or another. Aging at home – the least expensive of the old-age living options – isn’t always possible.
So. Do I stay or do I go? Why is this not a no-brainer? I have ‘say yes’ tattooed on my wrist, for God’s sake. [Or, really, for my sake.] I’m pretty sure my daughter would ask what I’m waiting for. I’m pretty sure my financial advisor would encourage me to use that passport. I don’t need to be 100 percent sure about anything, because seriously? Who can be?
I am, however, pretty sure things will work out, in the end. Because if they haven’t worked out … it’s not the end.
Aaaaannnnnddd we're going to plan a trip. I think that since you love the beach, it should be to the Caribbean or something similar. There's LOTS of affordable getaways. But you haven't seen water like that until you've seen it in person. It's SO BLUE.
Seems like a good idea to have a passport. You never know.
I've never been on one myself, but cruises seem to be a lot of value for the price. And since you don't drink, that's one big expense you don't have to worry about.