Recently, my sister-in-law went to a Friends of Scouting event and told a district executive that she knew me. He said, “sorry, I heard he had died”. She responded, “unless something happened in the last week, he’s alive and well and enjoying retirement in Florida”.
So, what have we been up to in a year and a half? Well, after a quicker than expected departure from the BSA, Lisa and I followed up on our long-term plan of moving to our home in Florida which is literally in the middle of nowhere in the central part of the state.
We had intended to pursue some part time volunteer opportunities to stay engaged, but then, COVID hit. We were fortunate, some of our family got the virus, but thankfully, no one died or became seriously ill. Additionally, we were lucky to be here as we could do a lot of outdoor activities, so we used the time to work on getting healthy by doing a lot of walking, bicycling and taking up golf.
While we are not good at golf, we are less bad than we were a year ago. Lisa is progressing on that front faster than me. We are now looking forward to pursuing some volunteer activities and getting a bit more engaged and out of our little bubble.
Our first post vaccination outing was a motorcycle trip over to Cape Coral where we saw BSA retiree and my former boss Bill Moran and his wife Jill. Bill at 86 is super active and looks about half his age!
We walked the beach on Captiva and Sanibel and it was wonderful to see the ocean again. Last week we took an airplane trip to Wisconsin to attend a wedding. For those of you who haven’t traveled yet, it is a bit different. A lot of ironic COVID related procedures – example, a lot of emphasis on not touching anyone else’s luggage – but then you get in the shuttles and touch all kinds of rails everyone else has touched. At the Parking Spot, there was a big sign stating that for our safety, they no longer give out bottles of water, but you end up touching a screen a dozen times trying to get your credit card processed to get out the gate. But, they don’t take cash to provide a “touch less” experience. Ummm. Thanks for that.
Free stuff I wish I had taken more of – insulated mugs, they are really handy in Florida. Things I took that are totally useless here – fleece blankets. Lastly, thank you to so many for the words of support and encouragement, we are hopeful and wishing the best for the future of the BSA. From the active employees fighting the good fight, I think the BSA will emerge to serve many youth in the future. Looking forward to seeing and reconnecting now with a lot of our friends!
Mike Surbaugh
Originally published in the Summer 2021 Now & Then Newsletter.
Thank goodness Mike and Lisa are alive and well. If you know a fellow BSA Retiree or Spouse who have passed, please add their information to our In Remembrance database.
If you haven’t yet updated your contact information for the BSA Retiree Directory, do it now at Digital Retiree Directory Update.