Alan Fox

Last Sunday Daveen and I, together with ten other family members, spent a delightful day at the Renaissance and Pleasure Faire.  This event has been held in Los Angeles for eight weekends a year (April and May) ever since my son Craig could walk, and he’s now in his mid-50’s.

The Faire opened promptly at ten am, and we were at the front of the line.  I was looking forward to my favorite Faire activity – eating.  Their corn-on-the-cob is great, and their vanilla ice cream is outstanding, especially in a root beer float.  I have many other favorites (turkey legs, peach fritters, chimney cakes…).

In the afternoon we usually make a reservation for the “Queen’s Tea.”  This year it was “Tea with Shakespeare.” We enjoyed ample servings of tea, tarts, scones, and finger sandwiches.  Suffice it to say that while tea began at 2:00 pm, I felt no need for dinner that evening.

I can’t think of any other annual event that I have attended regularly for more than half a century.  (Sounds impressive, doesn’t it?)  I think that we are all happiest with a certain amount of structure in our lives – a job, a regular place to sleep, family or friends to spend time with.  My family and I regularly celebrate birthdays, holidays and other annual events together. Of those, the Renaissance and Pleasure Faire is one of my favorites.

The very first Ren Faire took place in Southern California in 1963. While it was conceived as an educational endeavor – a way for school children and their families to experience “living history” – it has evolved into its current form. Now, perhaps, the emphasis is more on pleasure than education.

One of my sons told me yesterday that there are Ren Faires in many other states and locations – more than 60 in the United States alone. That seems like a great idea to me. At least for a single day we can shed our business attire and pretend we live in an earlier century, while retaining the benefits of automobiles to get there and electricity to run everything.  And as much as I enjoy immersing myself in an Elizabethan 16^th century village for the day, I would rather not have to live without electricity for any amount of time, as I did in 1994 when there was an earthquake in L.A. and the lights were off for almost three days.  (As were the refrigerators.)

At any rate, I’m delighted to be living in the 21^st century, with all its modern benefits, while visiting an earlier time for one relaxing day, dressed in my Elizabethan finery.

The Ren Faire runs through the end of May.

Alan

…I could do anything I wanted today?

This isn’t an idle question for me.  In fact, it’s a question that I often need to answer, (and not just on weekends).

Let’s face it.  Our lives are filled with obligations. We are often socialized to play our prescribed roles.  Yesterday I was watching my two-year-old grandson race around our family room, discovering whatever it is that toddlers his age need to find out about. As he matures, he will face years of socialization, school, and be encouraged to play his part in a (somewhat) scripted life.

When I was a child, I remember asking my mother almost hourly during the long summer vacations, “What can I do today?  I’m bored.”

Her answers were often pretty good.  The first tool in Mom’s “to do list for bored sons” arsenal was a visit to the Los Angeles Zoo.  I especially liked feeding peanuts to the elephants, and watching the monkeys fly around their cages in a fit of what seemed to be excess energy (but was probably bored desperation).  The zoo, however, was only good for one visit every month or two.  Riding my bike around the neighborhood was the more likely activity on my own daily “to do list” during those long summers.

Today I tell myself that I should “want” to be reading books when I find myself with time.  In fact, I have even bought the books that I should want to read: hard covers, paperbacks, and digital.  When I was on vacation recently, I actually did read five books.  But now that I’m home, I’m back to feeling that I should be wanting to read, as opposed to actually reading. Take last weekend, for example. How much did I read?

Nothing.  Although, I have to admit I watched sports on TV while playing solitaire, my favorite game on my iPhone.  It passed the time.  In the long run, it probably makes no difference at this point in my life whether I’m productive, or just plain enjoying myself.  Perhaps that is just a rationalization for doing what I really want to do.  But if I believe it isn’t that all that really matters?

All right.  Now I’ve been productive.  I’ve written my blog for the week.

Back to solitaire. Which evidently, is what I would do if….

Alan

I founded ACF Property Management, Inc. on March 1, 1968.

That was 55 years ago, or “in the age of the dinosaurs,” as my children will occasionally remind me.

For a long time, I diligently kept a business “To Do” list of the eighteen or twenty projects I intended to complete each day.  I don’t remember a single day when I checked everything off my list, but I do remember those many days when fate intervened. Then I had to give my full attention to other issues and didn’t find time to work on a single project from my list.

Retirement, however, was never on my “To Do” list, then or now.

One of my investors recently wrote to tell me that he was retiring and moving to France.

“Retiring?” I thought.  “How can he do that?”

Then I remembered that he was probably ten or twelve years younger than I am, so I guess he’s entitled to retire.  But I won’t, and here is why.

For many years my dad refused to buy a TV.  He said, “I’d probably just sit and watch the thing all day long.”  But, after I graduated from high school, he bought a color TV.  And he was right.  He sat in front of it for much of the rest of his long life.

But, like Dad, I like working on projects with other people.  He was still teaching music students when he was more than 100 years old.  I enjoy solving business problems with my staff at ACF.  It keeps my mind active, and ACF endeavors are far more engaging than sitting on my sofa watching “The Price Is Right,” or whatever the current TV favorite is for the geriatric set.  (Although I will admit that Daveen and I watch Jeopardy together most weekday evenings.)

So here I’ll remain, working away, and wondering where all the other octogenarians have gone.

Alan