Ever since my first day in kindergarten and the ringing of that first bell which announced the onset of recess and it's inevitable trip to the playground I have been living for playtime. Career, family and the pursuit of wealth have always placed second to my unbridled desire to be on the playground with a model airplane orbiting around my head.
I could hardly believe it when I read your posting. I thought someone has got a script from my life and put it on line. Then I noticed there were a few differences, but the theme was the same. "Living for playtime" is a wonderful phrase that sums up my life in three words. Here are some of the similarities and differences. I too am siting here with a cup of coffee and a cigarette slowly pecking out this message.
I have been logged on for 11 days 7 hours and 14 minutes since last September. This will be my 449th posting. This surprises me as I generally monopolize the conversation, but I have been listening more and talking less.
I discovered the joys of playing and creating in 1941 when I was three years old. I found two pieces of old wood shingle and a nail. I nailed them together and I had an airplane. I found more scraps and nails and as fast as I could put them together the size and variety of my fleet of planes grew.
Fortunately I was intelligent enough to slide through high school with very little effort. When I was in my early forties I happen by chance to see some old school records that they were throwing away. Among all the papers were teachers evaluations of each student in the eighth grade. Also in three word my teacher had summed me up perfectly. It read "intelligent but lazy".
After high school I considered going to college, but found out I was having too much fun playing with wine, women, song and cars. At 17 I started a carpenter apprenticeship, which was a glorified name for cheap day laborer. I realized that this was too hard of work and managed to become an estimator/superintendant/project manager by the time I was 21. Really enjoyable work because part of the day could be spent planning my playing when quitting time came. I eventually had two children and they thought I was a good father because we all spent a lot of time playing together.
In the next fifty years or so my life consisted of playing, with various interest at the top. Model airplanes, ham radio, then restoring cars then metalworking and now back to where I started when I was 3, building planes. I never let work interfere more than 40 hours a week.
I make no apologies for my life style. It certainly isn't for everyone, but it has worked for me. Where has this lifestyle led me to at this point of my life 69 and pushing 70? Well I don't know of anything I could have or do that would make me any happier than I am today. I have a wonderful wife of 17 year (third try) that is not only supportive but encourages me. I have near perfect health ,which is really a gift that I had no control over, two wonderful and successful children who still play with dad via email almost everyday, all of the material possesions that I ever wanted, enough money to be comfortable but not wealthy, many friends, and best of all pleasant memories of the thousands of hours I spent playing. Success or failure? I suppose that depends on your point of view. Gotta go now it is playtime.
Most of my life I spent playing
The rest was wasted
You are only young once but you can be immature forever.
Topic: 10 days 5 hours 10 minutes--1800 posts (Read 1747 times)