Cultivating Retirement: My Plans for Gardening Activities

2014
Steve Gibbs
BeniciaHigh
1/1/2014
Cultivating My Garden

Word Count 5,690
Steve Gibbs
Page | 2
“If you get to it and you cannot do it,
then there you jolly well are, aren’t you?”
 Lord Buckley

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Steve Gibbs
Page | 3
Special Thanks to 25 People Who Have Inspired Me
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Steve Gibbs
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Table of Contents
Introduction..................................................................................................................................... 4
Chapter 1......................................................................................................................................... 6
My Philosophy of Life ................................................................................................................ 6
Chapter 2......................................................................................................................................... 8
Financial Security. ...................................................................................................................... 8
Chapter 3......................................................................................................................................... 9
Painting ....................................................................................................................................... 9
Chapter 4....................................................................................................................................... 10
Writing ...................................................................................................................................... 10
Chapter 5....................................................................................................................................... 11
Reading ..................................................................................................................................... 11
Chapter 6....................................................................................................................................... 12
Being a Good Grandpa.............................................................................................................. 12
Chapter 7....................................................................................................................................... 13
Travel ........................................................................................................................................ 13
Table of Figures
Figure 1 Me in my Prime ................................................................................................................ 5
Figure 2 Philosopher D. T. Suzuki helped translate eastern philosophy for the western mind. ..... 6
Figure 3 The contemporary philosopher Alan Watts...................................................................... 6
Figure 4 Herman Melville, one of America's greatest authors, writer of Moby Dick .................... 7
Figure 5 Lord Richard Buckley, a most immaculately hip aristocrat ............................................. 7
Figure 6 My Security Blanket......................................................................................................... 8
Figure 7 Whoa! - a statement about food corruption...................................................................... 9
Figure 8 Mr. Big Nose - an exercise in flowing lines..................................................................... 9
Figure 9 Eager to write more than 800 words............................................................................... 10
Figure 10 An apple a day keeps the bookworms away................................................................. 11
Figure 11 Grandpa hard at work grandpawing ............................................................................. 12
Figure 12 My home state of Pennsylvania.................................................................................... 13

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Steve Gibbs
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Introduction
I am entering a new phase of my life –
retirement. I will no longer have lessons to plan,
concepts to translate, or students to teach. What
will I do with myself? How will I fill that void? I
must cultivate my retirement garden and enter into
it with a plan.
Otherwise, I fear every day will
become like the last and I will be
mired into eternity. I will continue to
live by my philosophy, though it has
changed in many ways over the years.
I won’t be rich, but hopefully money
will not be an obstacle for me if I
chosemy activities wisely. For much
of my early life, I considered myself
an artist. I used to paint with oils and
water colors, draw with quill pens and
pastel chalks, sculpt with stone and
wood, do pottery, make jewelry, write
poetry, and build odd contraptions. I
still write creatively, but I haven’t
done much of that other stuff in the
last 30 years and I wish to reclaim my
title as artist. There has never been
enough time for me to read the books
that interest me that I don’tteach. I
want to read for pleasure on a regular
basis. Also, I want to be a good
grandpa. I want my boys to remember
me when I’m gone. I intend to include
them in my bucket list.
Figure 1 Me in my Prime

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Chapter 1
My Philosophy of Life
hilosophy is a topic I spent much of my
youth exploring and trying to find ideas I
could agree with. For a long time I was an
avowed Pantheist. They believe God is not
separate from the universe. God IS the universe.
I took several philosophy classes in college and
have read many books on my own since then. I
have a strong attraction to Eastern philosophy,
which I discovered in college. I like the direct
simplicity of Zen and Buddhism. I like thinking
that I can connect with God the cosmos without
doing jumping jacks or putting on a show.
However,I like the industry of Christianity.
Christians can’t just be good. They have to DO
good. A lot of stuff got build by industrious
Christians. I like Judaism for its solidity and its
openness to all forms of education. I don’t like
theologies that warn people away from certain
ideas as dangerous. I don’t think any ideas are
dangerous to a person with a well developed,
well rounded, rational mind. I’m a big fan to
Alan Watts who blends East and West together,
and was alive during the Beat Generation and
the Hippie Anti-War Eras. He’s got a modern,
frank way of putting things that appeals to me. I
also recommend only one author if you want to
study Zen. Pass by all the other writers and find
D. T. Suzuki (Daisetsu Teitaro Suzuki ).
P
Figure 3 The contemporary philosopherAlan Watts Figure 2 PhilosopherD. T. Suzukihelpedtranslate eastern
philosophy for the western mind.

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Steve Gibbs
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have to say that I my
true philosophy of life
found me. It hit me one
day while driving to
Philadelphia from Penn
State. I was chatting with
my friend who was
driving. We were going to
spend spring break at his
parents’ house. We were
talking philosophy and I
asked a puzzling question.
I asked if he thought that if
every living cell on Earth
were to die, would life
return? Is it just the
chemistry that creates that
spark? On thinking about it
myself, I have a revelation. It was wordless, but
I could see everything connected. I somehow
fell into the center and circumference of space
and time and experienced an infinite instant. I
knew that whatever happened was the realdeal,
the realthread of our Gordian Knot. I saw all in
each. I have been a changed man ever since.
I did not study Eastern philosophy until
AFTER my heavy
connection with the
primary junction. Upon
returning to Penn State
after break I signed up for
a class on Eastern
Religions. They talked a
lot about having an
instantaneous experience
of enlightenment. They
knew what had happened
to me on the road to
Philadelphia, so I dug in
deep and liked what I
found.
I did have two other
influences in shaping my
philosophical paradigm. I
was greatly
influenced by the
author Hermann
Melville and his
life’s work. Many
of his novels and
short stories have
the same theme.
Because I read
severalshorter
works before
tackling Moby
Dick, I was better
able to understand
its cryptic
messages. They
were finally
reinforced in
Melville’s last story, Billy Budd Sailor.
The other person to influence my philosophy
was a comedian with a compassionate message
about love. Lord Buckley has inspired me in
many ways. He has influenced my philosophy,
my writing, my speaking habits, and my positive
loving outlook on life.
To address my current philosophy, it is to
realize that all religions
and philosophies have
truths to share. I am
open to them all. I do
not turn away people
who come to my door. I
do not shun the street
corner prophets. I do not
make fun. There is great
unity being involved in a
spiritual community that
is essential to our
species. Some are able
to select one and stick to
it. I’m wasn’t raised
with any one religion
and today I like them all
and I never go to church.
I
Figure 4 Herman Melville, one of America's greatest authors,
writer of Moby Dick
Figure 5 Lord Richard Buckley, a most immaculately
hip aristocrat

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Steve Gibbs
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Chapter 2
Financial Security.
Figure 6 My Security Blanket
ike pupil in the philosopher Allan Watt’s
class answering the question, “What
would I do with my life if money was not
an problem?”, I will have a fixed income that
should pay my bills and allow me to spend my
days as I
please. That’s the plan.
I don’t intend to
work in retirement. I
intend to indulge
myself fully in the
experience. If a time
comes when I want to
work because it would
make me happy, then
I will work in
retirement. Otherwise,
no.
I have been cultivating this portion of my
garden my entire adult life. I have been buying
properties and small businesses for many years.
I currently have six properties. All but the one
we live in, pays us rent. That rent augments our
pension and gives us breathing room. I have a
little bit of stock, not much. I’m putting most of
it into blue chip stocks that pay dividends. I
hope to have enough dividend stock by then that
the quarterly payments allow for a few wild
weekends. I’ve also got a gambling streak, but
not a lot of luck.
Still, I hold some stock in speculative
companies that if they did hit pay dirt, I’d
make a small bundle. For example I own
shares in a copper mine in Yerington
Nevada where my storage and kennel
businesses reside. What other investors in
this stock don’t know, that people in
Yerington do know, is that the Mason
Valley is loaded with copper. It’s just a
matter of demand and digging it out of the
ground. With pension, rents, and dividends
we hope to pay our bills.
Currently, I’m accumulating stock in YELP. I
do believe it will be the Yellow Pages of the
future.
Pension Investments Odd Jobs
L

Chapter 3
Painting
want to paint. I might want to further study
the art of others, but I already did a lot of
that in college. Mostly I want to be the
painter. I used to paint in high school and
college.
Then I stopped for 20 years. Then I painted
for one summer. Then I stopped for 13 more
years. Then I painted for one summer. I want to
be able to paint for an extended period. I can’t
paint very well, and my finished canvases are
often a mystery to viewers.
My characters look like cartoons, though in
my mind I’m trying to make them look real.
That’s just what comes out. So, I could either
say that I have a unique vision, or I could admit
that I kind of suck at it.
However,I’ve never painted for an audience
nor had that desire. I painted because I liked
doing it. I liked mixing the colors, spreading
them on canvas and bringing light to white. To
think that an idea of mine could become a
canvas wall painting always marvels me. To
think that I can create my own wall decorations.
I think that’s cool. For me painting isn’t
something I can do during my regular working
life. I couldn’t work all day and then come home
and hit the brushes for an hour or two.
For me painting requires solitude, retreat,and
plenty of
time. I need
to be
uninterrupte
d for
extended
periods so I
build the
vision and
then hold
onto it until
I finish
whatever I
started no
matter how
ambitious.
I
So, I could either
say that I have a
unique vision, or I
could admit that I
kind of suck at it.
Figure 8 Mr. Big Nose - an exercise in flowing lines
Figure 7 Whoa! - a statement about food corruption

Chapter 4
Writing
intend to continue writing. I may actually
finish a book of memories. It will be my
legacy. I enjoy writing when I’m not
pressured by deadlines; however, I also do well
under deadline pressure, so I can get something
written most any time. I’ve been writing so long,
it’s like thinking with my fingers. It just happens
whenever I get my hands on a keyboard. I’m
wondering if I would muster the energy and
desire to tackle something bigger than 800
words. I would hope so.
Figure 9 Eager to write more than 800 words
My characters look like cartoons, though in my
mind I’m trying to make them look real. That’s
just what comes out. So, I could either say that I
have a unique vision, or I could admit that I kind
of suck at it.
of suck at it.
of suck at it.
I

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Steve Gibbs
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Chapter 5
Reading
I wish to continue reading the classics. I like
the Russian authors and I would finish my
Tolstoy and Gogol and Turgenev. I would like to
also find modern authors and follow their books,
but there are so darn many writers that I can’t
sort them out.
Currently I’m
working my
way through
the books of
Christopher
Moore, but
that won’t take
much longer. I
could finish
those books in
a few months.
I’ll need to
begin reading
book reviews
and visiting
book stores
more often. I have no problem reading non-
fiction. I like the relevancy of journalistic
writing. Still, it’s nice to get lost in a story, and I
haven’t really done that in volume since my
youth. For the last 30 years mostly I’ve just re-
read the novels I teach.
What’s nice about following a living author
is the possibility of someday meeting him or her
and hearing them speak. That would be great.
I’ll never get a chance to meet and greet Herman
Melville, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, or John
Steinbeck. I intend to load 1,000 titles onto my
Kindle and just while away a month spread over
a year simply reading.
the quarterly payments
allow for a few wild
weekends. I’ve also got a
gambling streak,but not
a lot of luck.
I have been
cultivating this portion of
my garden my entire
adult life. I have been
buying properties and
small businesses for
many years. I currently
have six properties. All
but the one we live in,
pays us rent. That rent
augments our pension
and gives us breathing
room. I have a little bit of stock, not much. I’m
putting most of it into blue chip stocks that pay
dividends. I hope to have enough dividend stock
by then that the quarterly payments allow for a
few wild weekends. I’ve also got a gambling
streak,but not a lot of luck.
the quarterly payments allow for a few wild
not a lot of luck.
Figure 10 An apple a day keeps the bookworms away

Word Count 5,690
Steve Gibbs
Page | 12
Chapter 6
Being a Good Grandpa
I intend to be a great grandpa. I have
grandsons and I want to show them a good
time. I want to do my best to reveal to them
the variety of life and a respect for the bare
necessities. I want to take them hiking in
Yosemite and strolling Broadway in New
York. I want to take them to the theater and
to soup kitchens, to monster truck rallies and
the ballet. I want to have quiet conversations
with them where I give profound life lesson
advice. I want to be the kind of grandfather
that grandsons quote as the go through life. I
want to hear Tyler, Jack, and River start
sentences in tough situations that say, “Well,
as my grandfather always used to tell me…”
I remember the few things said by my
grandfather. I only knew my mother’s
father, Richard Riley, who lived in
Oklahoma with the rest of my mother’s
family. He was part Apache Indian and part
Irish. He married an Irish woman.
Unfortunately, has advice was meager and
depressing. With his dark, sunburned,
weathered skin and his perpetual cowboy hat
permanently stained beyond the sweat band,
he’d sit on the front steps with me and look
out over the flat land. He advised me to
never grow old because it hurt too much.
“Everything just starts falling apart when
you get old, and it’s a darn pain in the ass.”
His arthritis gave him constant agony and he
never went to doctors or took pain pills. His
words were not profound, but they stuck
with me like glue. I remember every second
of it. I want to now be the grandpa, but
hopefully be a bit more philosophical and
didactic. My father’s father was run out of
the state of Pennsylvania for making
moonshine. I don’t recall any of his words
and barely know his face. I surely don’t
want that for myself. I’ll be there.
Figure 11 Grandpa hard at work grandpawing

Word Count 5,690
Steve Gibbs
Page | 13
Chapter 7
Travel
I want to travel, but global travel isn’t
necessary. I’ve been to Europe a few times.
It was fun, but unless I have money out the
wazoo, I will be satisfied traveling in the
US, Canada, and Mexico. There is a lifetime
of new experiences in our own backyard. I
intend to accomplish my travel ambitions by
either buying a truck and a camping trailer,
or simply taking hotel rooms and driving a
sports car. We would not travel all the time,
but we would plan trips all the time. We
would like to visit the high desert of New
Mexico. I’ve read many bohemian,
romantic, nomadic stories about the people
who live there, basically as squatters on land
no one cares about. I want to
see back-road America by
taking random left turns as we
drive around America. I also
want to visit major cities and
live the high life.
I have been cultivating this
portion of my garden my entire
adult life. I have been buying
properties and small businesses
for many years. I currently have
six properties. All but the one we
live in, pays us rent. That rent
augments our pension and gives
us breathing room. I have a little
bit of stock, not much. I’m putting most of it
into blue chip stocks that pay dividends. I hope
to have enough dividend stock by then that the
quarterly payments allow for a few wild
not a lot of luck.
pension
and gives
us
breathing
room. I
have a
little bit of
stock, not
much. I’m
putting most of it into
blue chip stocks that pay dividends. I hope to
have enough dividend stock by then that the
quarterly payments allow for a few wild
not a lot of luck.
properties and
small businesses
for many years. I
currently have six
properties. All but
the one we live in,
pays us rent. That
rent augments our
pension and gives
us breathing
room. I have a
little bit of stock,
not much. I’m
putting most of it
into blue chip
stocks that pay dividends. I hope to have enough
dividend stock by then that the quarterly
payments allow for a few wild weekends. I’ve
also got a gambling streak,but not a lot of luck.
. All but the one we live in, pays us rent. That
rent augments our pension and gives us
breathing room. I have a little bit of stock, not
much. I’m putting most of it into blue chip
stocks that pay dividends. I hope to have enough
dividend stock by then that the quarterly
payments allow for a few wild of luck.
Figure 12 My home state of Pennsylvania

Word Count 5,690
Steve Gibbs
Page | 14

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