Alan Fox

A few months ago, I received an email from a doctor who has invested in real estate with me for many years.

“I’m retiring from my medical practice and moving to France, so I’d like to liquidate my investments,” he said.

I was shocked.  Not because he wanted to sell his investments, but because he planned to retire.  At 65.  I’m still working part-time at 83, and I plan to continue working indefinitely. Why? Because I’m one of the lucky ones who loves what I do.

When I was a student the prospect of working full time seemed like going to prison.  Since I wanted the ability to choose how I spent my time, I started my own business and have now worked for myself for more than fifty years.  Yes, I’ve often had to come in on a Saturday and I’ve worked late into the evening on many occasions, but I also can mosey into the office at noon (if I have no appointments). Being in control of my time is a big deal to me.

Also, I’ve always enjoyed working on projects with other people.  In running my own business, I have the additional advantage of choosing who I get to work with. My current staff is outstanding, and I look forward to spending time with them.

Since 1968 I have accumulated and now manage a sizeable portfolio of commercial real estate investments – major shopping centers – throughout the United States.  The work keeps me busy along with a staff of 30 full-time employees. Because I enjoy what I do, I don’t think I’ll ever feel the need to “retire.”

I’ve heard it said, for an occupation choose something you enjoy, and you will never work a day in your life.

I feel that way on most days.  Even so, like almost everyone else, I also enjoy my days off and even love to take vacations.  So happy June 19^th.  I’m driving to San Diego for the weekend but will be back in the saddle next Tuesday.

Perhaps I’ll have an adventure there that I can share with you next week.

Alan

When I was 18, I combined a $1,000 inheritance from my grandmother with the $800 I had saved from tutoring and bought my first new car – a metallic blue VW bug.  I found the best price at a dealership in Costa Mesa, about 80 miles from my home.

While Volkswagen bugs with manual transmissions were never known for their get-up-and-go, this one seemed unusually sluggish on the drive home.  I later discovered I had neglected to release the emergency brake.  While I never made that mistake again, I did run out of gas a few times.  There was no fuel gauge in those early VWs.

I was extremely proud of my new car.  For the first month, I parked it on the street in front of my parents’ house.  One morning, I came out to find that someone had sideswiped my beloved VW during the night.  There were two unsightly scrapes on the left rear fender.  I was extremely upset, especially because I didn’t have enough money to pay for repairs.

I was angry for an entire month.  Then I decided to change my attitude.

I realized that it did me no good to remain upset.  After all, a car is a thing.  If I had the money, I could have it repaired or replaced.

On the other hand, the people I loved could never be repaired or replaced.  I had only one mother, one father, and one little brother.  But I would probably own many new cars in my life, each one hopefully better than the last.

In that moment, I decided to reserve my love only for people, and not for things.  And I’ve kept that promise.  I’ve saved myself a lot of grief by refusing to feel upset when a “thing” is damaged or destroyed.

By contrast, when my brother died unexpectedly about 20 years ago, I was devastated.  On a deep level, I still am.

Ironically, my red Tesla now has two scrapes on its rear fender.  Both were my fault – the exit to our office parking structure isn’t as wide as it should be.

I like my car a lot.  But I do not love it.

I reserve my love for you.

Alan

In my last two blogs I wrote about travelling to the North Pole and to Antarctica.  These are probably two of the more unusual destinations I’ve visited in my life.  Now that the Pandemic is no longer considered a global emergency people have decided to travel again, and travel agents are preparing for a surge of summer activity.

Where are we all going?  Personally, I’ve always enjoyed cruising.  At the end of summer, I’ve scheduled a river cruise from St. Louis to Philadelphia.  Cruising is great – you don’t have to pack and unpack every day, the scenery comes to you, and Daveen prefers a cruise without any waves, so a river cruise is perfect.

Last year we enjoyed a ten-night cruise on the Columbia River.  Most of us are familiar with Lewis and Clark, the explorers known for leading an expedition through the Pacific Northwest.  It’s hard for me to imagine a world in which a Boeing 747 could not fly you anywhere you wanted to go – even across the country or to another continent.  And no Ferraris or Teslas or freeways or even maps – just horses and canoes and improvised wagons.

But because we have access to modern transportation, I’ve been fortunate to travel to many destinations. Some I’ve enjoyed visiting many times. These include:

1. Edinburgh, Scotland. Fifty years ago, my dad introduced me to the annual Edinburg Festival in August, and I have returned often since then, usually seeing four or five theater performances in a single day.
2. New York City. You might sense a pattern here.  I mostly visit New York to attend the theater on (and occasionally off) Broadway.
3. The perfect family vacation.  Daveen and the children visit the beach.  I remain in my hotel room fully dressed, covered with suntan lotion, and reading a book.  No sunburn for me.  (I was on the big island for the 1991 solar eclipse.  Just as the moon began to block the sun, a cloud cover moved to obscure the view, so after considerable time and expense I found myself watching the solar eclipse on CNN).

If you don’t want to expose yourself to coughing strangers on an airplane right now, you might sponsor a “travel party,” where everyone attending describes one or two of their favorite vacation spots and shares a few photos and videos.  Could be an interesting evening, and you’ll have even more ideas for your next vacation.

Meanwhile, I’m off on my next trip.  It’s only 3 miles via car on easily navigated roads, to the Beverly Glen Deli for lunch with one of my sons.

Happy travels.

Alan