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Literary Retiree

June 14, 2021 6 Comments

By Christine McLaughlin

Newspapers, travel books, and magazines cluttered every surface of Bob’s house, prompting frequent encouragement from friends to “travel more, enjoy your life.” He invariably replied, “When I retire, I will.” And he meant it, making exhaustive lists of cities to explore and museums to visit.

His body made other plans for retirement. The macabre cells multiplied, intense nausea stymied his appetite, he lost weight, and his skin lost all color. Even after his family checked Bob into hospice, he continued to consume his newspapers, travel books, and magazines, planning to travel until the day he could no longer hear or read.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Archibald Hobbs says

    June 14, 2021 at 4:29 am

    Nicely written Christine…and describing a phenomena which is probably all to common…

    Reply
    • Christine says

      June 14, 2021 at 9:33 am

      Thank you!

      Reply
  2. Derek says

    June 14, 2021 at 8:43 am

    It seems like a sad story but perhaps he got a lot of pleasure from his hobby.

    Reply
    • Christine says

      June 14, 2021 at 9:32 am

      It did make him happy! Thanks.

      Reply
    • Christine says

      June 14, 2021 at 7:42 pm

      Yes, I know it does for me!

      Reply
  3. ruth mannino says

    June 14, 2021 at 2:47 pm

    Love this story! The same could be said about any type of reading material. It allows you to escape from life’s problems.

    Reply

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