Daily Grit by Wes Thorp

I'm proud to support Walt Sorg and his candidacy for the 67th House District in Michigan

 

That's me on the left carrying Walt's banner in the July 4th parade in Lansing.

Somebody on Facebook expressed surprise that a conservative like me would support a liberal like Walt Sorg for the Michigan House of Representatives in the 67th District.  

First, I can't actually vote for Walt because he's not in my district, but I would if he was.  Next, let me be completely open about my relationship with him.  I've known him for at least four decades give or take a couple of years.

We have worked together as reporters and on the staff of the Michigan Legislature.  We have socialized and we have helped each other when necessary.  I have seen his ups and downs and he has seen mine.

He knows how to govern and he knows that you need people from the other side to do it.  He listens and he reacts and it's not some phony exercise to create the illusion of communication.  If he disagrees, he'll let you know and he's open for continued conversation.

Walt is open and transparent.  He hasn't tried to hide that he has had bad knees or that he has struggled in keeping his weight down.  He's had financial and health challenges.  He's a real person.

He was there when I needed help cutting a tree down and he was there when I needed a place to stay when I found myself homeless for a week.

What about the philosophical differences?  What are labels worth anymore.  Mitt Romney calls himself a conservative and he was the father of the health plan in his state that President Obama used as a template nationally.  Romney says Obamacare is wrong, but it's the same as Romneycare on the state level.

Relationships are key in politics and I don't even no who's running on the Republican side in the 67th District.  I've seen Walt at every community function I've been at.  He's listening and he's talking.

I'd vote for him if he was in my district, the 68th.

Are you a baby-boomer still trying to figure-out what to do during your retirement?

It seems like it was just last year when my wife, daughter and son threw a surprise 60th birthday party for me where our house and backyard was filled with people who helped me cross-over into the next important phase of my life.

This year on the last day of August, I'll turn 66.  I'm going on seven full years of retirement and my point is simple.  My life seems to be zooming by.  I hesitate to imagine how quickly my trip to being 70 will go.

I've been dogged by the desire to be sure that I get to my list of things I want to do before I'm either too old or I pass from this life to the next.  And that's where the rub comes in, trying to determine what should be on my list.  I've had to shuck all kinds of things off the platter of choices.  

I know I'll never run a marathon anymore.  A bad left knee says that will never happen.  I'll never sit down and talk to my earthly-father.  I found out he's dead and he's been cremated.  I might be able to sit down with my grandson and pre-born grandaughter over a beer or a coffee and talk about life.  But what else?

With the continued clicking of my personal clock, I feel the urge to get my list settled.  I know the first item on my so-called bucket list.  It involves my relationship with God.  I know that everything in my life starts and ends there.  What does that mean?  How does that look in my day-to-day life?  I think I'm finding some of the answers.  

It helps me to write it down and then to make sure that's where I put my focus.  

How about you other retired baby-boomers?  You got this all figured out or still working on it?

This is from my About page on this blog: