I’m home today, no appointments.

This afternoon, I have another (Zoom) lesson in computer photo editing and how to enhance photos without changing their character. We woke up to snow this morning, but it’s stopped. I love rainy, cold days in a warm house in the dark. It’s suitable for writing.

I’m gearing up for winter pasture photos and for the beauty of the time. I like seeing St.Joseph staring at the landscape with snow on him.

I think this year will be different from last year, a year of medical surgeries, treatments, checks, and changes. For someone as addicted to color and light as I am, winter is a creative challenge. I’m up for it. Spring is close behind.

I have a good friend who just moved to Florida. He is happy there; he loves being warm and hates being cold. He said the town where he lives is booming, with people moving there every day.

It’s very crowded, he added, traffic is awful, and the heat can be brutal, even know. Politics there are ugly, as they are throughout America.

I also like being warm, and soon after we got married, Maria and I went to Disney World to be friendly and celebrate our lives together in a frigid winter. It was to be there for a few days, but it became tiring for me. I missed the winter, the white, the wood stove fires.

We went a second time, which was just too expensive; the crowds were overwhelming, and the rides had to be reserved months in advance. We are happy in our frozen winters and our peaceful lives.

I was thinking recently about Walt Disney, whom I wrote about while writing for Rolling Stone.

He wanted to make money, but he never stretched the idea of his park into a chaotic, crowded place, and expensive place. The kids came first to him. He was  no angel, but he loved to walk around the park, dropping to his knees to get the child’s view of things.

I was touched by all the parents, many of whom drove a long way and spent all their money to be there, trying to comfort screaming children who had to wait for hours to get on a ride or could not get on at all.

I think Disney understood the idea of enough being enough. Disney World can’t pause to take a breath, and it was anything but fun for us.

I’m glad people seem happy there, and I’m pleased it’s booming. I have no desire to go there or stay there. I am where I want to be for the first time in my life, and I’m digging in here. Corporations seem out of control to me; they can never earn enough or pay people enough.

When I first took my daughter there, it was a joy. The lines were not too long, the food was not too expensive, and children could soak it up in a peaceful and fun way. It was, to children and me, enchanting. As an adult, she has little desire to take her daughter there. It sounds too chaotic.

This being corporate America now, there is no Walt Disney to keep the park under control, just the usual greedy stockholders wanting more money. The place is nerve-wracking and overwhelming, at least to me, and I loved it once.

Many farmers I have met here rush off to Florida when they can’t milk their cows anymore. More and more, they tell me it’s too expensive now; they are looking for other Southern states to retire to.

Retirement is a very rough thing for farmers. Their wives tell me that without a purpose, some don’t seem to want to live.

They work all day and night all of their lives, and the transition to nothing is rugged. A number of the farmers  I know passed away shortly after going to Florida in an RV or trailer.

I have never thought of retiring and never plan to retire. It’s one bright side of writing. You can do it until you drop. And I will.