Casserole Conversations Part 1
Literal dirt, metaphorical dirt, put me in a dirt pile – I’m as happy as a pup sniffing out a delicious trail to some long-lost bone…You get the idea. I’m an Anthropologist by nature and profession. The past 40 years my life have been spent traveling the world, exploring the nooks and crevices of mother nature’s smiling face. Immersing myself in the cultures of each group in their respective locations, my love and appreciation for humankind has richly deepened and matured through my years of exploring.
The walls of my study pulse with the adventures of bygone days. A traditional Biombo Mask from my travels in the Congo; a fragment of ancient pottery that once stored tantalizing, colorful spices; framed, victorious faces smile back at me from that time at a successful Pompeii dig site.
At my age, I’ve begun hearing…“Amelia, this collection of memories are all the echoes of days long gone, a shrine of ‘once it was, but now it’s not’”. If you ask me, that’s quite a dreary perspective and a false reality in which I will never dwell. Past experiences will always inform your present. One adventure always draws the roadmap to the next and I’m ready for another.
a cottage on the grounds of a beautiful retirement community where people of my age with a zest for life’s gifts choose to reside. Here my past experiences and working knowledge will come into play. Archaeology, Bio Anthropology, Linguistic Anthropology, and Social-Cultural Anthropology, I’ll use my whole kit to experience and absorb everything this community has to offer. And documentation…? You betcha. “A world to explore, a vibrant community to come home to…” the catchphrase in the advertisement peaked my interest and led me here…I’ve already traveled the world but perhaps there’s something here yet to be revealed – a world within a world, a home where the comforts of life gather and stay awhile. Get ready for my biggest research study yet.
You all know me too well to think I’d throw a lavish dinner party complete with Carl’s favorite casserole without some not-so-nefarious but curiously ambitious plan in mind. We all hail from different avenues of life, we each have a unique perspective. I am out to recruit you to assist me in making my research study the best it can be. Retirement. Community. Community Retirement. I need to know and document what brought us all here, what we left behind, why we stay, why we choose to claim this lifestyle as our perfect retirement.
