Dew Drop In April 2024 Poems

April 4—Personal grooming… Ending Daily Shaving

April 4—Personal grooming…

Ending Daily Shaving in Retirement

When Sam Adams
retired from
the U.S. Department of State,

he made five vows
which he kept for years.

first, he would quit daily shaving
shaving once or twice a month

second, he would never wear
a suit and tie
instead opting for the northwest look

Long pants, khaki or jeans, T-shirt
and a Western-style shirt
like a Pendleton shirt.

Third, he would retire in Korea
where his wife had family
and Southern Oregon
and an annual trip to DC
where they had rentals.

Fourth, they would travel
a lot every year
seeing as much as the world
as they could while they could still do.

starting with an epic road trip
across the US
10,000 miles 35 states
in three months

and a cruise to Alaska
his last State of 50 to visit
and an annual visit to someplace
warm in the winter.

Fifth, he would start a blog and podcast.
the World According to Cosmos,
to highlight his poetry and short story
submissions and occasional political rants.

He kept his vows
except that COVID blew away
his travel plans from 2019 to 2022!
and he wore a suit once,
to attend the wedding of the son
of his best Korean friend.