I guess I've been pretty fortunate in my life. I've managed to make enough money as an entertainer/musician (notice musician is last) that all my disposable income has been pissed away on retirement accounts, boats, booze, keyboards, hot woman (note I said woman), deadly foods, and other frivolous things. In the interim, I managed to build a home out in the sticks, (yes, I actually built most of it with my own two hands), open a retail sporting goods store, then go back to music, the job I loved best. I even found enough disposable income to raise a couple children, both of whom have been very successful, and did so on less money than anyone that I know made during the same time period.

Tonight, I was talking with an old friend, one that I met while working in the medical field at the University of Maryland Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. We have kept in touch since 1962, when I first went to work there, doing surgical research replacing heart valves and later becoming technical director of the Cardio-Pulmonary Division. He left the field of medicine and went on to become a very successful insurance agent in Maryland, and at 78 years of age, is still working 4 days a week.

We talked about all the things we had in common, people we met, and how we had so much fun living on very little income, but still enjoying life to it's fullest. So, I guess it's not how much you make, or how much disposable income you have, but how you manage your lifestyle and still be able to enjoy your friends and family. I've had a long ride over the past 77 years, but it has been a fantastic ride to say the very least.

Enjoy what little time you have on planet Earth,

Gary