Compared with a lot of men, I’m a rather boring guy. I have no major hobbies.

Many men enjoy golfing. I tried it; even took golf lessons. Those little round holes on the golf course are safe with me.

Fishing? Naw. I’m too impatient.

Hunting? Nope. Nearly 65 years ago I bought a shotgun from my Uncle Frank. Only one animal, a slow-moving rabbit ever died because of my hunting prowess (or lack of same.)

Years ago I remodeled part of our basement; Better Homes & Gardens never took photos.

To save money, I have tried servicing my cars but it always costs more to have a real mechanic repair the damage.

Like I said, I’m a rather boring guy with no hobbies.

A few decades ago, my lack of hobbies was causing my wife to worry. She had several hobbies and was concerned that when we retired I would have nothing to do and would, at the least, be bored and irritating.

To my great sorrow, Cindy passed away before we could retire.

Fast forward to today and I am retired. I have remarried and to the best of my knowledge my lack of hobbies has not yet exasperated Julie. Time will tell.

Meanwhile, I am keeping as busy as I would like to be in retirement.

The first step to a sane retirement was to adjust the length of my days. My first job required a 4 a.m. wake-up. During most of the remainder of my career I was up before or shortly after 5 a.m. and remained active until 10 p.m. or later.

When I remarried in 2014 Julie was still teaching and left for work around 7:30 a.m. As she left, I was watching “Leave It to Beaver” on television and feeling guilty. Over the following years, I solved that problem by learning to stay in bed until 7 a.m. or later.

I am now having no problem staying busy. Coffee shop conversations with friends are wonderful activities.

Our church offers two men’s Bible studies. We old retired guys meet on Thursday mornings and the younger men meet on Saturday mornings. In addition, I do some graphic design work for the church and serve on a committee that ensures newcomers are warmly welcomed.

Once a month, a couple dozen old former television and radio broadcasters get together for lunch and tale telling. Broadcasting careers are, shall we say, “unforgettable” and the tales we tell are as fun to hear as they are to tell. Imagine a room full of folks who used to talk for a living.

I do not enjoy network television and am selective with my news sources so my television viewing is mostly YouTube. There’s a wide choice of topics available and I am discerning enough to avoid YouTube’s bogus content.

As most married men will tell you, there is usually a honey do list in a relationship. Julie takes it easy on me but I enjoy helping when I can. Most recently she changed some decorating in the house and I was called upon to fill and paint nail holes from no longer used drapery hardware. I don’t do ladders anymore but I’m tall enough to fulfill this task just standing up.

In recent years I have been active in the central Iowa medical community. Most of the appointments on my calendar these days begin with “Dr.”

So I’m staying busy as an old retired guy but, you may ask, what am I doing to keep my mind sharp in my senior years? I’m glad to be asked.

I am in a relationship with my keyboard. I have loved to write since I was a kid, and I am continuing to do so as a former kid. I write a newspaper column for several Iowa newspapers and statewide farm publications serving Iowa, Missouri and Illinois.

I have written a column for the bi-monthly Iowa History Journal magazine since its inception nearly 20 years ago as well as an occasional feature article. My most recent contribution concerns the 100th anniversary of U.S. Highway 20, a route I have driven from Dubuque to Sioux City scores of times. In fact, I lived within a dozen miles of U.S. 20 more than half my life.

So all that fretting my dear wife did 20-some years ago was in vain. Any irritation I am causing in my old age is not related to my lack of hobbies.

Arvid Huisman can be contacted at huismaniowa@gmail.com. 2026 by Huisman Communications