Prologue: It's never a good sign when a blog post starts with a prologue. Almost always an indication the writer is going to say too much. Sorry, just me being me. I've always found writing to be cathartic, calming. I don't claim to be a writer, maybe more a story teller. I think the ability to weave emotions into words is compelling to some and helps me understand where i am in my life. If that's boring to you, go find a good book to read, lord knows there's millions of them out there. Finding Serenity: I need to say this before someone else states the obvious; serenity starts from within. I learned that lesson some 43 plus years ago when i first sobered up. Unfortunately, we all tend to live our lives and the craziness that goes with it, often forgetting and looking for the external, rather than the internal. Perhaps that was why Sun City was such an eye opener for me. What was especially enlightening was, i read the same comments i was making from countless numbers of residents who came before me. From the very beginning of Sun City, people had been buying here and telling anyone who would listen what a calming affect (or is it effect?) these White Walls had on them once they arrived. My wife and i worked different schedules, and i was a flaming workaholic. We missed a lot of life together because of that. I've stated i spent a good part of my life tilting at windmills (chasing the unattainable), and surely that is a recipe for disaster. It was never about the money, i felt i needed to make a difference. That coupled with being the first born, i sometimes felt i was never good enough to satisfy my parents expectations. From our earliest visits (circa 1997) to Sun City, we immediately felt it. Life outside the walls was wholly different than life inside the walls. It was like wrapping yourself in a cocoon and feeling warm, safe and away from the craziness. We bought our home at 51. We couldn't move here till we retired at 55, but we visited often. We loved the peace of mind we felt after flying in from Minnesota and fighting the traffic from the airport. When we drove through those White Walls on Boswell and Thunderbird, there was a sense of calm that was overwhelming. Staying with my folks when we had our home rented out was crushing, but it helped pay the bills. Driving by the house only spurned on the desire to one day live here. In the thread, selling the compound (link provided), i documented the agony and the thrill of an ongoing remodel project. It took us nearly 20 years to get it the way we wanted it; and then we sold it. It was a totally cool house and one we had painstakingly remodeled year after year. One of the joys of living in Sun City is you can do as little or as much as you want. Many people have kept their homes vintage. They love the look and feel of the sixties and 70's. There's even models that have the mid-century modern vibe and many buyers try and maintain and even enhance that style. Others of us want to put our own stamp on them. Take what virtually everyone calls "good bones" and create their own identity. I've read comments from people being critical and just smile. The beauty of Sun City is in that we let pretty much everyone do their own thing. As long as they keep them up, it's all good. When driving through, you notice, cookie cutter isn't a term that would fit Sun City. After carefully remodeling what i thought was the perfect house, my wife got the bug to do it all over again. I argued it wasn't bad to do at 50, but being 70 was a whole other program. As arguments go, this was another one i came out on the short end. We bought a second house we rented out during the winter months and remodeled during the summers. The goal was to have it done before we moved, but alas, goals when dealing with contractors are often subject to change. When the compound sold, we were forced to move quickly and living with the "under construction" signs about was our new way of life. Yuk. This first piece has gotten long so i will stop for now. When i return, i am going to go in multiple directions. We are within days of finally being done with the project, so i am breathing easier. But, there's way more as we continue on the quest to finding serenity.
There's little doubt in my mind if one moves to Sun City, the stress factor is reduced ten fold from wherever you came. In fact, the Del E Webb Corporation (DEVCO) used to spin it you could add ten years to your life if you moved here. No empirical data to support that claim, but there's always been a bunch of old people living here so who are we to argue it. And therein lie the beauty of the community; what really is there to whine about? Don't get me wrong, we all do. But, if you look at the nature of the whining, it truly is trivial junk. Seriously folks, the biggest crisis in Sun City the past three months was whether we are governed by Title 10 or Title 33. Really? Of the roughly 40,000 folks living here in the high season 92.8% of them have no clue what that's all about (no empirical data on the percentage either, just my wild ass guess on that number). When you boil it all down, life in Sun City can be pretty simple. Of course, if you are still working and driving into downtown Phoenix (or almost anywhere else in the Valley outside the walls) it gets more challenging And if you really want to get crazed, there's all kinds of little things to drive you nuts. Important stuff like are people putting garage sale signs on your street light poles; people using the gym equipment and not wiping it down properly when done; the local grocery store running out of ad items because we are cherry pickers; too many folks squeezing into the pew at Church on Saturday afternoon or Sunday morning. The list is nearly endless if you want it to be. Becoming angry these days is way easier than in the past. National politics has made most of half-crazy to start with so any affront can be blown up to massive proportions. Part of this piece is really about helping me/you appreciate what we have here. We all need leave life outside the walls out there and focus on what we have inside them. We can't change a damn thing out there. Here in Sun City, we can put our hand up and make a difference. There's dozens of opportunities every day of the week; clubs, churches, organizations and more need your help. I'm not talking about getting a job; we for years were called the "city of volunteers." Without you giving back, we change into something less than what we are/were. It doesn't have to be a lot. With our size, the sheer numbers work in our favor. Clearly the higher percentage of folks working once they move to Sun City is growing, that will impact us. In the end, hopefully those buying into our way of life recognize the importance of taking ownership in the community. That's how we were built and one of the reasons we were so successful. It was standard operating procedure, you live here, you participate. Unfortunately, that is one of the area's we have slipped a little in; giving back. Yet again, i wander. This wasn't/isn't an effort to chide you into becoming a volunteer. Once you live here, you will see the value; for both you and whomever you give your time to. This thread will eventually leak off into some photo's of the house, the remodel and at times how woefully i handled it. I will take an introspective walk into that arena that eludes us all so often...finding serenity.
Just for a break from my rantings, here's a shot of the outside of the house. Not as dramatic on the outside as the "compound, but the inside is a whole other story:
Spoiler Alert: Sometimes i crack myself up (somebody has to). I start every day with a google news feed. Given the past 8 weeks has been the last shows of Game of Thrones, virtually every day there are stories about the show. I binge watched all of the previous seasons a year ago, but don't have HBO currently. Consequently i stay up to date by following those stories. Virtually every one of them warns me of a "spoiler alert," and if i continue reading i will be ruined for life; or at least for watching the show someday. All of which has nothing to do with Game of Thrones. I just felt it important to warn any/all of you who have just moved in or will someday move here to read no further. I don't want to ruin your Sun City experience. Smiling as i type this. Read on if you must and maybe you can avoid the pitfalls we found. Lord knows they are out there. I need clear the air first; I suck at remodeling. I'm not talking about having a power saw in my hand (i suck at that too), i just don't handle the stress of remodeling well. My wife is way better at both ends of that equation. She loves seeing walls coming down and new ones going up. In some cases, she's taken the walls down herself; usually when i've been gone. Funny, cause she does the same thing with knockdown furniture. Must be something in my jeans, or is it genes? The Good, The Bad, the Ugly: Back to the spoiler thingie. If you are buying here and hiring contractors, handy men, guys hanging around the driveway at Lowes or Home Depot or grabbing neighbors and friends, please recognize there will be days you wished you had stayed in Armpit, Iowa (no offense to Iowa, i just like the alliteration). Seriously, over the twenty years, half the massive number of projects we have done have left me ready to slash my wrists. In some cases, we hired crooks and con men. In some we hired guys who couldn't find their ass with either hand. Sometimes we hired really good ones who were just really busy and tried to keep everyone happy by doing a little bit each week. Some were just outright stellar but too small to do the jobs we wanted done. There's an old adage, "you get what you pay for." I wish it were true, but in our case, not even close. Don't get me wrong, there's good ones out there. Unfortunately they are usually busy and hard to find. Word of mouth is your best bet. Even then, it's a challenge. The more folks you hire, the bigger the opportunity to be taken. If i can give you one piece of advice, slow down and screen contractors. Ask friends to show you the work they have had done. Too often we have been in a hurry and paid for it with inferior workmanship. One final word; cheaper isn't always better. Of course, if you can do it yourself, at least you have no one to holler at. The downside is you may end up divorced if the project goes sideways, but what the heck, lots of singles in Sun City looking for their next spouse. I know, i am getting absurd but after 20 years of remodeling, there's not many cohesive brain cells left. The good news is we are about a week out from being entirely wrapped up on this three year adventure and damned if i'm not close to finding serenity. Stay tuned and a i will pop up a couple of pictures to expound on the Sun City way of life.
I know well that feeling of "Ahhhhh....." upon returning to our home in Sun City after a vacation. Over the past 20 years we have done necessary upgrades in insulation, roofing, windows, appliances and flooring but have kept the cozy feel of Phase 1 homes. I do like the look of the new southwest style stucco on homes but it's not for me. That's the beauty of Sun City diversity.
It is amazing aggie how many people over the years have felt that way. Indoor/Outdoor living. Del Webb came to Arizona in the mid 1920's. He worked across the country but he came to understand Arizona the best. When he built Sun City he fully understood the massive numbers of people moving here were coming as much for the weather as anything else. The best way to capitalize on that was to incorporate indoor/outdoor living into a seamless concept that flowed as graciously as possible. It was no accident that virtually every mode of living was built around patio's. It wasn't unusual to have both front and back options to get out and enjoy the sunshine. Sliding glass doors were wildly popular and they were prevalent in many of the homes he built. Like so many, we came from the Midwest where gray days were what we saw about six months out of the year. That first year here, one of things that struck us was just how nice it was to see the sun, almost every day. We always chuckled when long-timers would comment on how nice it was to have a cloudy or rainy day. Say what? Now that we have been in Arizona for a while, i get it. Well almost. An occasional cloudy day is okay, i don't want to see the rain. I just don't. If you saw the pictures from the thread, Selling the Compound, you may have noticed we took advantage of a home that had great outdoor space; and then we enhanced it several times over. It was one of the reasons i hated selling the house. It had great indoor/outdoor living. Thank goodness me wife has a great eye for what she wants in a home. because the new house is even better. Between the pool area, and the covered patio's front and back, it doesn't get much better. The 15 foot wide, 8 foot tall multi-slide door to the pool is to die for. Funny thing is they are built in Glendale AZ by Avanti and were a fraction of the cost of the ones you see at the home shows. I suspect the longer people live here, the less they use their outdoor areas. And of course during the 110 degree days, we all tend to hang near the air conditioning units. Hoping the pool will change that, because living outdoors is one way to help me in that quest in finding serenity.
If only serenity were as simple as remodeling a house or building a pool; but alas it's not CM. After 43 years off searching, it's still elusive. I've come to understand we sometimes are our own worst enemy in the quest for some peace of mind. I run the gamut of ignoring the crap going on around us in the community, the country and the world to wanting to immerse myself into trying to fix them. Foolishness for sure. Hell, just reading the headlines on what our president does on a daily basis is beyond my comprehension. I have a hard time wrapping my head around how anyone endorses the lies and BS that spew with regularity. Deep breath, ignore and repeat. See how easy it is to get off kilter. I read with mild amusement this week in the Independent as two letters to the editor thanked the local politicians for saving us. Really? They know nothing about the history of this remarkable community and how resilient we are. Clueless on how we ended up in a situation where we have been stripped of the concept of self-governance to be led around by nose rings with the GM dragging us where she thinks we should go. Deep breath, ignore and repeat. Throw in the craziness of remodeling and moving and never ending construction and it's easy to become overwhelmed by devices of our own making. Then when you factor in health issues, finances and personal relationships, we almost set ourselves up to fail. And don't forget, we are aging fast; too fast. Damn. The really, really good news is; Sun City was built to age gracefully; to minimize problems and to maximize enjoyment. Still sorting some of that out, but suffice to say we need find those things that bring us peace of mind and the sheer joy of living. No doubt it will get easier as we get better settled into the new house and i don't have contractors tripping over themselves. Days, maybe weeks away, and that alone brings me closer to finding serenity.
There was a recent phenomena from Marie Kondo about cleaning out your closets and then better organizing your life. Nope, didn't read her book or watch her Netflix series, but i did read an article about as you de-clutter, hang on to the items that bring you joy. Duh; sounds like a pretty simple exercise for how we should live our lives. As much as humanly possible, immerse yourself in the things that bring you happiness and as much as humanly possible, avoid those that drive you nuts. Funny, some of us go out of our way to find the stuff that drives us wild and then cling to it in hopes it will get better. It seldom does. Right now i am involved in three projects: A five year strategic plan for the museum, the CC&R review and implementation process at SCHOA and the long range planning committee at the RCSC. All of which have enormous potential for change within the community. All of which have significant pitfalls to becoming successful. The funny thing is, i've failed at as many things as i have succeeded at in my life. If you boil it down to the most current assessment some love to spout, it's all about winning. But is it? All three of these projects can be joyous exercises, or they can become futility at their finest. I don't sign on to win, but to try and make a difference in the outcome. Winning implies there's losers. Staying involved with any or all of them is more about finding and working with those who want to improve or enhance what we already have. For those of you who will be moving to Sun City, the true joy of our community isn't captured just in lazing by one of the many pools, working out, joining a club or chasing a golf ball. The beauty of the Sun City is more about what you can give back to help maintain a way of life that literally changed the nation. For near on 60 years Sun Citians' found their place in the sun by becoming part and parcel of our success. In my humble opinion, when we do that, finding serenity becomes a whole lot easier.
Finding serenity is as easy as bumping a spam thread down low enough on the site people won't waste their time clicking on it.
I'm a definite newbie here after spending just a short amount of time I have to say that your wisdom and advice is very much appreciated. One of my former residences and employers was the Ventura County Star newspaper. The editorial page had a weekly column"Pa Ventura" I will try not to embarrass you but I hereby annount you as my personal "Pa Sun City" I appreciate your experience and knowledge.
Hey David, welcome. Unfortunately at my age, it should be "grandpa Sun City." That's the other thing, never take yourself too seriously.
I've just finished Post 1 and am desperately hoping to run into some Serenity pretty soon. it is making me nervous.
Serenity is as fleeting as a sunny day in Minnesota in January; when you find it, savor it and enjoy it while it lasts.
Or as rare as a cool August day in Sun City? Yes, grab it while you can and love the one you're with.
