After finishing our brief stay in Indiana, we made our way to Missouri where we were joined by six other couples for the annual "Celebration of Friends". This group has met together in the fall for the last seven years. We all graduated from college as friends in the 1960s. This year we gathered at WYNDHAM MOUNTIAN VISTA RESORT in Branson. It is always a wonderful time of simply being together.
Following that five-day event, we moved about an hour on down the road to spend a couple of weeks with my son and his family. It was special to see how much our great granddaughter has grown. As usual, I found my way to Wilson's Creek National Civil War Battlefield to do some photo shoots of whitetail deer.
Now it's off the WYNDHAM FAIRFIELD GLADE in Tennessee. We will be "visiting" there until the first of the year. It was there that we first joined the Fairfield/Wyndham family in 1982. The rest is history.
REFLECTIONS
Autumn has always been my favorite! Don't get me wrong. I like all four seasons. It is just that there is something special about the fall. Since childhood I have enjoyed the changing of the trees from green to a kaleidoscope of vibrant colors.
Where I grew up in Michigan, fall meant hunting. As an adult I spent happy an hour searching for pheasants or sitting quietly beside a deer trail. The musty smell of fallen leaves always brings back memories of those times.
Now, because of my pacemaker, the only shooting I can do is with a camara! It's not quite the same but, at least it lets me pursue two hobbies at once.
Hobbies are defined as "activities done regularly in one's leisure times for pleasure." Once you are retired and "old", they became so much more than that. They are "activities done regularly for pleasure to keep one's mind and body active".
Photography, for example, keeps one on the outlook for the new, the different, the interesting. It requires being active, creative, and calculating (as you figure out f-stops and stuff). Thus, the numerous photographs I publish.
Writing is, likewise, a pleasurable experience that keeps one's facilities sharp and allows for creativity to continue to be explored. Thus, this blog.
Then there's "Road to the Masters by EA Sports". It requires dexterity, quick reactions, and a bunch of factoring as one strives to better previous scores. Thus when, after hours and hours of pleasurable activity you manage to score a 20 under par, it provides an undeniable feeling that you're still "with it".
Now, it's back to another round of golf while sitting on the couch. Life is good!
