Saturday, July 19, 2008

Retirement

During this period of time Ellen inherited ten percent of the Hood Estate which amounted to about $4000 annually. Looking forward to retirement I began investments for the future. $200 monthly was taken from my salary and invested in TIAA and CREF. I also began some annuities. Ellen retired from teaching and did some assistant teaching work which reduced her load. She really enjoyed working with an Afro-American 4th Grade teacher. Both of us began having annual health check ups. She had to have a historectomy and I had to have a Postate operation to remove a beginning cancer. I retired in June of 1986 when I became 65. In the winter of that same year I was out in the cold to get some logs from the fire and experienced a heart attack. With a quick entry to the emergency room at the hospital a nitroglyecerine tablet under my tongue removed the clot. My recovery was rapid but I was advised to stay away from cold temperatures. For the rest of the year I stayed indoors on cold days. As a retirement hobby Ellen took up painting and ceramics. I began a woodworking project making napkin holders and a special trash bag holder for grocery bags. These are still in use today. When winter came, we decided to rent an apartment in Winterset in Winter Haven Florida. The Florida winter was both sunny and warm. I bought myself a bicycle to ride around the enclosed area. There were lakes on each side of the houses so there were also scenic walks. Ellen's depression returned as her medication lost its force. She had to have electroshock treatment in Lakeland which was again very effective. We enjoyed our winter in Florida and returned to Laurinburg in February. March was very cold and snowy which required that I stay indoors. The following winter we stayed an extra month but March was still cold. I persuaded Ellen to sell our home in Laurinburg and buy a place in Florida. The plan was to become a citizen of Florida and stay there seven months before going to Blowing Rock in June. We found a home for sale in a gated community called Overlook Estates. It had four citrus trees in the back yard and two banana trees. It was a three bedroom house. We sold the home in Laurinburg and asked Luther to load our furniture on a rented moving truck and bring it to us in Florida. When this was accomplished we were all set. We received a good offer for the cottage in Blowing Rock. It was sold and we bought a Condo in Evergreen Springs and moved our furniture in from the cottage. These two moves fixed us up for a beautiful and healthful life. The major problem was Ellen's depression which returned every six months. She had electroshock in Chapel Hill and in Lakeland.