I now have a need for additional income. As a consequence I’ve gone back to work, part-time. I’ve discovered that no matter how much you plan, you can’t plan for every contingency and expect to have enough money coming in to cover everything.

The work is part-time and remote, remote meaning I do most of it from my home. The company I’m working for is back in the Research Park area next to the University of Central Florida. Because of the nature of this work I had to have my background re-checked and then have access credentials given to me that allow both remote and physical access to certain assets for me to do my new job.

I’ll remember this particular day as the day I stood out in the cold for 20 minutes before being allowed to enter a location to finish up my re-entry back to what I was doing when I retired. It was so cold I was chilled all the way through, something that’s never happened to me before. When I was finished and finally back at home, all I wanted to do was curl up in a thick warm blanket and sleep for a solid hour.

What I did today brings back the memory of a favorite uncle who lived in Decatur Ga when I was a little kid. He worked his entire life, even past a normal retirement age. He drove a Volkswagen Minibus that he used for carrying all his work tools. Late one dark night while driving home in his VW, his VW was hit broadside, on the passenger side, by a speeding drunk driver running a red light. The impact was so severe it threw my uncle out the driver’s side, where he landed and hit his head on the curb. He died at the scene instantly.

I remember this because I’m in that same age ballpark. Unlike my uncle I drive an Acura MDX with driver assist features because I know I’m old enough to need that kind of help. Especially with the occasional commute across Orlando. The Acura is a far safer vehicle than my uncle’s Minibus ever was, or ever will be.