I get on the Interstate in 5 minutes, and after about 20 minutes of 70-80 mph driving, the city comes into view.
Next, I get off the Interstate and cross the Cumberland River.
After a short ride up the elevator to the 3rd floor (the "penthouse,") I enter my little office and take a look out the window.
I now have a lovely view of the parking lot next door. Last year the state demolished an old building that used to occupy this site. The process threw an inordinate amount of dust up on my window, which has yet to be cleaned. I've lodged my request, but the government moves in slow, mysterious ways.
I love my office, because I have a door that closes, a window to the world (even if dirty), respect from my colleagues, interesting, challenging and important work to do, good people to work with and a delightful, walking-friendly downtown to enjoy on my lunch hours.
Often a friend and I will walk several miles at lunchtime, strolling by the Ryman Auditorium and the new Symphony Hall under construction on our way across the Cumberland River, around the Coliseum (where the NFL Titans play) and back across the river to the office.
I have a comfortable job in a comfortable city. I had to accept a 39% decrease in pay when I got the job in 2000 compared to what I had been making with the Phone Company when I retired in 1998. However, this job puts a lot less pressure on me, and it actually uses more of my skills than any job I've ever held. It requires a good deal of research and writing, which are some of my strongest abilities.
After a long and difficult time during April 2002 through April 2003 taking care of my previous wife during her ultimately losing battle with leukemia, I feel like things are finally beginning to settle down. After an online search, I found a new wife, who moved here from Memphis to marry me in December 2003 and is fully supportive of my music career. Now after 45 years of hacking away playing in weekend bands, being in and out of music, trying to balance my life of raising children, holding a marriage together and struggling to stay employed in an industry that I never chose, I feel like I'm finally home.
Although it hasn't always been so, my little world is finally a nice place for me to live.
1 comment:
Hey - I really enjoyed this post. It's pretty interesting to see and read what a "Day in the Life" is really like.
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