# The Little Book with the Big Questions--A Memoir of my Golden Years



## qwertyportne (Oct 12, 2012)

Once upon a time, I fell in love, got married, bought a home, fathered a child and lost my job.

Not all on the same day, of course.

Weeks later, I saw an ad captioned MOST PEOPLE ARE TOO BUSY EARNING A LIVING TO MAKE ANY MONEY!  Some guy named Joe Karbo was selling a book titled "The Lazy Man's Way to Riches."  Eager to keep food on the table and a roof over our heads, I put a check in the mail.
When the book arrived, I began reading about how to start a business. A fool and his money soon part, I thought, and returned to the help-wanted ads. That evening my wife came into our office with the book. 

"Did you buy this?" 

Oh boy, I thought, here comes our first argument. But she was excited, not angry.  She had found some big questions in that little book: What do your dreams look like? Is that what you really want to do with your life?

I had been asked lots of questions: "When was the war of 1812 fought?" "Did you eat your spinach, young man?" "Hey dude, want to smoke this?"
But nobody had ever asked me what I wanted to do with my life. I had been told but never asked.

That evening we gathered around the table and talked about our dreams. My son wanted to be a veterinarian and train horses.  My wife wanted a home in the country, and I wanted a cabin by a lake and a canoe to paddle across it. The excitement of that evening faded, of course, but we never forgot Joe's advice: "Life is not what happens while you dream of something else; it's what you make of it with your dreams."

And we did. I found another job. My wife got her home in the country, my son got his horses, and I got my canoe. The cabin by a lake is still waiting for me to win the lottery.

Forty years went by. We were senior citizens! We had given the best years of our lives to the business and busyness of changing diapers, paying bills, forging careers, raising children and bringing home the bacon. Now we could sleep in and indulge ourselves like two old lounge lizards having fun in the sun.

But we kept remembering "Is this what you really want to do with your life?"  No, we agreed. Our golden years would be a time to re-invent ourselves, explore things we put off or passed by in our youth, touch others with our compassion and know-how and work and play with unfinished business. 

We did and discovered life cannot surprise you with unexpected pleasures and uninvited challenges if you restrict yourself to only what you can dream. So we did not plan our golden years too carefully, and they became a path less traveled by, one that made all the difference.

--Bill


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## grant-g (Oct 13, 2012)

I wonder: 
what is that state, while sleeping, when I see, and hear - mostly nonsense - while shivering about, and toss, and turn (with my eyes twitching) And how do I make mine plan a better future?


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## IanMGSmith (Oct 15, 2012)

Hi Bill,

Third essay I have read this evening and although very different, each, including yours,  has been exceptional in its own right.

Never bored or wishing to skip to the end, you couched this so well the theme flowed and unfolded while holding my interest and enjoyment of your style.

This is such a good piece it is worthy of a final grammar check although the only thing I noticed was "We did and discovered life..." which I felt could do with a comma, "we did, and we discovered that..."

Thanks again,

Ian


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## Cran (Oct 20, 2012)

Minor formatting issues; otherwise, is good.


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## Cran (Oct 27, 2012)

Bill, apparently your profile settings are not allowing Private Messages, so I will have to post the message here.



> Hi Bill,
> 
> Your non-fiction piece, "The little book with the Big Questions" has been nominated for Motley Press issue 10. If accepted, what author name would you prefer assigned to the piece?
> 
> ...


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## Ethan (Oct 27, 2012)

qwertyportne said:


> I had been asked lots of questions: "When was the war of 1812 fought?" "Did you eat your spinach, young man?" "Hey dude, want to smoke this?"
> But nobody had ever asked me what I wanted to do with my life. I had been told but never asked.



Hi qwertyportne,

I thought this excellent and I am delighted to see it has been accepted for publication and rightly so. The title, I must admit, made me raise my eyebrows but once I started reading the grin never left my face. What a feelgood experience and right on the mark for so many. In particular I loved the quoted section, an often thought but rarely expressed sentiment, well done and congratulations on this engaging piece of writing and its publication.


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## Cran (Oct 28, 2012)

Nominated, *Ethan*, but likely to be accepted, assuming we have an agreed name to put to it.


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## Divus (Oct 28, 2012)

Bill, - your piece is a little bit of personal philosophy - best discussed amongst a few friends around a log fire long with a glass of wine and a few nuts.

I could say that you left out the luck of being in the right place at the right time and -very importantly-  good health.

*Barry*


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## Ethan (Oct 29, 2012)

Cran said:


> Nominated, *Ethan*, but likely to be accepted, assuming we have an agreed name to put to it.



Mis read your reply sorry, Is more than one nomination required if so I would also like to nominate this piece.


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## Cran (Oct 29, 2012)

You are welcome to add any nomination or second any nomination in the *Nomination* thread, *Ethan*.


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## bazz cargo (Nov 19, 2012)

I enjoyed the read. Now I'm putting my dreams through their paces.


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