YOU’RE RETIRED AND YOU’RE A GUY. WHAT DO YOU DO? I’LL TELL YOU
I thought I’d write about something more fun than taxes and border walls—something for old guys like me to do. I’m going to Reno in August for a big bowling tournament. Last year, we had 180 bowlers show up. I placed in a couple of the categories. In the B-category, I came in 1st in the singles competition and in the doubles, my partner and I placed second. We both came away with some moolah. So, it was not only fun, but turned out to be profitable as well. Before I get ahead of myself, let me tell you how I got to go bowling in Reno, in the first place.
Several years ago, I joined an organization that I didn’t even know existed, until my friend Ron invited me to be a guest at one of their luncheon get-togethers. This organization has but a couple of qualifying requirements: One, you have to be a guy, and two, you have to be able to attend the monthly luncheon meetings. You don’t have to pay any dues—only for a once-a-month luncheon, that you are required to attend at least six times a year. Since I joined, I haven’t missed one, because I enjoy getting together with my fellow retirees; my old buddies.
I know what you’re going to say; “What a boring bunch; getting together for lunch, once a month; big whoop-ti-doo!” I can tell you, the luncheons are just the beginning, and, they’re never boring. While we get to eat a great meal, served by a very pleasant and capable staff, at a great location, we get to listen to interesting presentations on varied topics of common interest. At theses luncheons, we also get reports from several activities chairmen, on upcoming events and results from previous events, like bowling, golfing, bocce leagues, and so on.
Did I mention that there were activities you can sign up for? I’m an avid bowler; not necessarily a great one, but, I do like to bowl. So, I joined our bowling league. Do you like golfing? If you do, you’ll love this group. You can golf your tee off. There are a number of other activities you can sign-up for and you only have to pay for the particular activity you want to participate in. And, just so that you won’t think that you always have to leave your sweetie at home, there are a number of events you can bring a date to that are organized to be enjoyed by couples.
We have a beautiful Christmas luncheon, a summer BBQ, a couple of Chicken and Bingo evenings (that would be a fried chicken dinner followed by bingo, until all the prizes are given away) as well as periodic dine outs to sample the cuisine of area restaurants.
Before I get too far ahead of myself with all the fun stuff, I had better introduce you to this great organization; my organization: SIR. That acronym stands for Sons In Retirement; hence the 2nd qualifier: you should be retired but you could get away with being partially-retired if you have the time to be active in the organization, but, as the first qualifier states, you have to be a son—in other words, a guy.
I bet you thought that the SIR acronym stood for some sort of snooty, shi-shi codeword for a bunch of swells. In SIR, we have doctors, lawyers and Italian chefs (you know, guys who create Italian dishes) as well as bottle washers. We’re all equal, and the tie that binds us is the fact that we have all worked for decades, and now we just want to get together and socialize a little and enjoy our time together.
SIR is like an oak tree—a giant oak tree—with many, many branches, all over this area. As a matter of fact, there are around a hundred and twenty branches. So, wherever you live in Northern California, you’ll find a local chapter of SIR. Actually, the branches in Northern California extend from Bakersfield to the Oregon border and from Lake Tahoe to the Pacific Ocean.
I belong to SIR Branch 19, a.k.a., John Muir Branch and we meet the first Thursday of the month for our Luncheon and speaker, at the Oakhurst Country Club. We couldn’t have picked a more beautiful spot for our meetings and our hosts take excellent care of us at our luncheons. As I mentioned earlier, we don’t just get together to eat, we have a number of great activities. At branch 19, here are some of the activities you could be participating in: golf, bowling, bocce, travel, bridge, poker, walking, hiking, computer technology, dining out, wine tasting, investing, and one of the latest activities started by yours truly and my buddy John Carl: DATE, which is an acronym for Discussing Ancient Technology & Engineering. We even throw an occasional UFO into the discussion or talk about who’ll get humans to Mars first; Elon Musk’s Space-X, NASA, or the Ruskies. And of course, we’re always interested in new ideas for activities, so if you have one, come and join us and tell us all about your idea.
From our branch’s official statement: “Membership is open to men, regardless of age, race, color or religion. We are an all-volunteer organization, so our members need to help out when called upon. SIR supports NO outside causes or interests. We prohibit discussions of politics and religion, soliciting or selling anything to any member.”
“Our member expectations are few. Have the free time, be a friendly, sociable guy, participate in our luncheons and activities, and introduce others to SIR, so they can join in the fun.”
The whole concept is very simple, really; “Improve the lives of our members through fun activities and events while making friends for life”. And, you can never have enough good friends.
In September, our new bowling season will be starting up at Clayton Valley Bowl, as well as our DATE program which takes place after Bowling on the second Wednesday of every month. So, if you’re a bowler, come and check out Branch 19 and meet the guys that make it all happen. It’s one decision you won’t regret. So, I might be seeing you at Clayton valley Bowl and our September luncheon at Oakhurst Country Club, and maybe even at our DATE meeting. At our September DATE meeting, we will view and discuss a film entitled TESLA, Visionary or Madman, which was originally shown on PBS.
As stated earlier, “Our mission is to improve the lives of our members, through fun activities and events while making friends for life”.
If you’d like to learn more about our branch and our activities, you can contact us at sirbranch19@gmail.com or call us 925.338.1996 or better yet, you can visit us on the web at www.sir19.org. For other branches in your area, look up Sons In Retirement or www.sirinc.org on the web.
Just remember: “In SIR, there are no strangers.”
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