The Crazy Guy retired at 55, divorced at 56, emigrated to Spain at 58, got married again at 60, bought a house in the UK at 61, sold a flat in Ronda (Málaga) at 68, and became a property tycoon aged 70!
Is he a very late developer or what? And why has he been so busy in the last few years?
Am I a late developer? Not really, life just happened that way. Nervous breakdown, marriage break-up and redundancy all in the same year, 2004, is a pretty hefty triple whammy in anyone’s book. So a lot of adjustments had to be made.
Why am I so busy? Because the Covid-19 pandemic made me take stock of my life (and death). Surrounded by the latter, random passings from the deadly Coronavirus, a family death in a plane crash in Australia, the near death of my wife in 2021 at the hands of “el bicho”, as the Spanish somewhat dismissively call the Covid-19 virus, and my own long-Covid issues, I decided I needed to make the most of whatever time I’ve got left.
So, at the moment, yes, I am very busy. I continue to write for EyeOnSpain and other websites. I am still helping to bring my wife back to full strength, whilst coping with my own health issues. I’ve been doing up a house, created an allotment and I landed myself a job at the age of 71, although that didn’t last very long.
The Crazy guy
The young folk of Montejaque, the pueblo blanco where I live, near Ronda, don’t get it. Why is a retired bloke working all the hours God sends, including Sundays? Is he crazy or what? All they’re looking forward to is the day they retire ….. and they’re only in their 20s! They’ll have a long wait, I’m afraid.
I say to them, that if they ever get to retire (the retirement age keeps going up – so some of them will surely die before they reach it!) they’ll need to be active too, in order to avoid the crushing boredom of retirement with nothing to do. They think I’m crazy, sure, but I’m older and wiser – they’ll learn!
Prioritising
So, I thought I’d cut back on the writing, but that hasn’t happened. I find it therapeutic.
My lovely wife (the “Lovely Rita” – Beatles?) is getting better by the day, and I’m learning to live with my breathing issues. Covid got to my lungs and it won’t let go, so I just take longer to walk anywhere. We’d planned to do the Caminito del Rey in 2022, but I’ve had to pass on that.
Casa Montejaque has come along nicely and phases 1 and 2 of the renovation are complete and phase 3 is drawing to a conclusion. If it hadn’t been for the four months working time lost because of the two local Covid-19 lockdowns, and recent heavy rain, it would be ready. It goes back on the holiday rental market at the end of January 2023, when I hope to start picking up bookings for Spring and Summer.
Travelling
Since Covid we’ve been travelling more. Frigiliana, Extremadura, Madrid, Toledo, Germany, Cornwall, Germany again, Nerja, Malaga, Sevilla, London, Jerez de la Frontera, Germany yet again.
In 2023, we’ve got Hastings (England), France, Cordoba and Granada in our sights. Possibly Budapest.
Conclusion
So, yes, in many ways, I have kind of got my life the wrong way round.
Am I a late developer? Maybe.
Am I Busy? Yes, I am.
Am I crazy? Definitely!
© The Crazy Guy
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