A New Day of Living Free . . .

Well, first I want to wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukah - and best wishes for the holiday season. Today is December 28, 2008, the Sunday right after Christmas and, I believe the last day of Hanukah. I left my Falls Church, VA location on December 23rd with my buddy, Dave, for some R&R. I’m currently located in Norfolk, VA where we arrived during the late afternoon on December 23rd after a, generally, pleasant drive. Our first stop was to visit our long-time friend, Lucy who lives near the Chesapeake Bay beach in Norfolk. We had planned to visit with Lucy until Friday, the 26th, but due to unforeseen circumstances, we decided to stay here in Norfolk until Monday morning, December 29th.

I’m currently sitting on the beach where quite a few other people are enjoying a beautiful, spring-like day here. The air temperature is about 77 or 78 degrees. There is about a 10 mph breeze blowing, but the water is calm. I’m facing north with the warm sun to my back and as I look east, to my right, I can see the 17 mile long Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel that connects mainland Virginia at Norfolk with the southern tip of the Delmarva Peninsula with parts of Delaware, Maryland and Virginia on this piece of land that forms part of the eastern side of the Chesapeake Bay. Each time I cross that 17 mile span or spend time in Norfolk looking at the bridge tunnel, it takes me back to my youth, as a 16 or 17 year old youth living on John Alden Street in Clifton, NJ with my family, I remember my neighbors across the street, Art and Clara Mays. Art was a civil engineer and he worked on the construction of the Bay Bridge-Tunnel. We came down to Virginia Beach (next to Norfolk) and visited with Art and Clara and saw the bridge under construction. That would be about 46 years ago. Where does the time go?

The main purpose of this trip was to find some sun and warmth - and we found it, a mere 175 miles or so from the Washington, DC area. Tomorrow, we venture about 330 miles further south along the Atlantic coast to Myrtle Beach, SC as we seek more sun and warmth.

The second purpose of this trip is to spend some time clearing my head from the recent events involved in down-sizing my life, leaving the ranch and beginning this new phase of living and working free. I don’t do New Years resolutions. They don’t work for me. Instead, I prefer to review my life, identify a few things I want to do toward improving myself, establishing a few realistic goals and objectives and creating some plans to accomplish these goals and objectives. Since I left the ranch on November 1,2008, I have established basic, simple, living quarters in Winchester and Falls Church, VA, plus, an office in Fairfax, VA, a mailing address in Front Royal, VA, set up the basics for work stations in Winchester, Falls Church and Fairfax, and acquired and set up a backpack that carries everything I need to make me completely portable and capable of taking care of business anywhere I am, including, here in Norfolk. So, I have accomplished a lot in a short period of time. The New Year, despite the predictions of a deepening economic crisis and recession (possibly sinking into a depression) offer so many new opportunities and possibilities - which is why I’m taking this time to explore a lot of these ideas to see which ones are the correct ones for me to pursue.

So, that’s it. While people all over the country are digging out from snow, ice, and now, predicted floods, I’m relaxing on the beach enjoying the sun.

I’m sure I’ll post again before January 1st, but just in case, let me extend my best wishes for a very happy and healthy living and working free 2009.

From Norfolk , VA . . .
Enthusiastically and gratefully,
Ed Helvey