Calling all NEWBIES. ... Let's introduce our selves! Use this thread.

[MaryB59]

Hi, I'm Mary. I'm new to these threads but am excited by the opportunities to learn and connect.  I love AARP.  I'm very newly retired, live in the midwest, and there are SO MANY opportunities.

If you want to make connections with me and other Newbies, reply to this thread.  I'm seeing many starting individual threads/topics which will make it difficult to connect, just due to shear volume.

Hope to hear from you

[JackSparrow1]

Ahoy -

Yes, I am Real!

I live in Lincoln City, OR, and rand for City Council, this last election.

Came in 3rd out of 3, lol; at least I know I have a couple of hundred friends in town, lol.

I don't hang out on this site, but I got a notice in my Email, and just happened to look in on it, this time around.

Bummed out about the Govt Shutdown, and now Prez has gone too far, wanting to keep it closed.

As long as we seniors are not affected --- but there, one day, could be a "Grey Panther March" on the Capital!

Happy New Year to all, savvy.

Capt Jack Sparrow

[saucykicker]

@MaryB59: Love this idea! Will read the thread, and make a post.

[MsRain54]

Hello everyone 

My name is Ms. Rain, I'm here from Indianapolis,Ind. I was thinking how nice it would be to find friends to communicate with, have some laughs, even join a group that loves to walk. I work alot and haven't had time to develope any friendships here but I'm always hopeful. 

Just dropped in to say,,"hope everyone has a beautiful start of the New Year and keep it going.  Life is precious make every moment count because changes are constantly happening. So smile even when you don't want to and stay postive no matter what it looks like.

[helens98499]

Hi folks. I'm Helen. I was born in New Hampshire, lived in Mississippi for 4.5 years in the 70s, and have lived in Western WA since August 1978. I love science fact & fiction, Star Trek, Doctor Who, John Denver, Eminem, ferrets, reading and writing poetry, Shakespeare, writing fan fiction, embroidery, scrapbooking, journaling, watching British TV, AD&D 2.0, Pathfinder, going to sci-fi conventions, Monty Python's Flying Circus, Three Stooges, Loony Tunes, Cheech and Chong, Red Dwarf, Stargate SG-1, Babylon 5, Firefly, MASH, Scrubs, WKRP in Cincinnati, collecting Bibles (my favorite version is the NASB), my son and my sister, best friend, hero and boss of me, Barbara, who passed away on 11/11 after a short bout with cancer and septic shock. I'll talk about anything -- well, okay, almost anything -- including religion and politics. Ut oh, don't know what I'm getting myself into.... but I will. I used to hang out in religion chat first on MSN, then Yahoo and finally Wireclub, so if anyone here has done so as well, let's gab. I promise you won't offend me, and I'll definitely try not to offend you. To quote the great Surak, "There is no offense, if none is taken." And to quote the great Vice President Al Gore, "Peace out, y'all!" (Oh yeah, and I could join the DAR if I wanted to. Just sayin'.)

I've got a lot of VERY funny photos (at least I think they are) that I'd love to post. I promise not to post anything obnoxious 😉

[JackSparrow1]

Hi Helen. Loved your intro. I'm a convention nerd, from way back, starting in '78. If I'm not into most of what you listed, at least I'm familiar.

There was a convention in Portland, OR, called OryCon, it started in '78, and I managed to get to the first 26 of them. I now live on the central OR coast, and can't afford to get to them anymore.

My wife and I are retired, living on our SS, and trying to get by.

If you want to get some conversation going, my Email address is: CaptJackSparrow45x124@gmail.com.

I have been through cancer 3x... and now my wife is going through a medical malady. Can't close the book on hers yet.

That's about all I can think of for right now. Drop a line if you think we can click.  🙂

Jack Sparrow. (Yes, that's really my name.)

[IM42Golf]

Greetings from Pete in Louisiana.

Let me state that I DO NOT discuss RELIGION or POLITICS, period. The U.S. Navy taught me that many, many years ago, because those two subjects only result in FIGHTING. Anything else that you wish to discuss is fine, as long as I have an interest in and a knowledge of the discussion subject.

I hope to retire sometime in 2018. I just hope that I can afford it.

Regards,

'Pete' Madere

[Epster]

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@IM42Golf wrote:

Greetings from Pete in Louisiana.

Let me state that I DO NOT discuss RELIGION or POLITICS, period. The U.S. Navy taught me that many, many years ago, because those two subjects only result in FIGHTING. Anything else that you wish to discuss is fine, as long as I have an interest in and a knowledge of the discussion subject.

I hope to retire sometime in 2018. I just hope that I can afford it.

Regards,

'Pete' Madere

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Hi @IM42Golf Pete. Wise words indeed. Mostly I stay out of those discussions as well, feeling nothing worthwhile comes of it. But the good news is that there are many forums and sub forums here so neither one of us has to talk politics or religion. So yay. 🙂

I hope you can afford a nice retirement and that you are able to get there this year. 

[Rainbowhope]

God's Rainbows to you all !!

Happy New Year!

I now have a new volunteer job at our Congregational Church.

I help keep the pew pockets clean!

This is a great job for exercising.

It's kind of a warm-up before I go to the YMCA.

Happy days ahead!

[Epster]

@Rainbowhope  Hello! (waves) Good to hear from you again, Rainbowhope. I was thinking about you the other day, hoping things were well with you. 🙂 Happiest of New Years to you.

[klmajor]

Hello!

My name is Kathy and I've been "retired" from Dog Walking and Pet Sitting for five years now. My husband will still be working for another six years. We have been married for 34 years and have a grown son. No grands. I took leave of the best (paying) job in the world to help my mom as she aged and ultimately passed away. Then we started construction work on our house and with two senior dogs, I have been holding down the fort and making sure they are comfortable around all the noise and new goings on. I love my pups but am looking forward to getting out in the world again! We both love being outdoors for gardening, hiking, camping, etc. That being the case, we are advocats for a healthy and vibrant earth. We are very politically inclined and follow events closely. 

AARP seems to be right up our alley 😄

[Epster]

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@klmajor wrote:

Hello!

My name is Kathy and I've been "retired" from Dog Walking and Pet Sitting for five years now. My husband will still be working for another six years. We have been married for 34 years and have a grown son. No grands. I took leave of the best (paying) job in the world to help my mom as she aged and ultimately passed away. Then we started construction work on our house and with two senior dogs, I have been holding down the fort and making sure they are comfortable around all the noise and new goings on. I love my pups but am looking forward to getting out in the world again! We both love being outdoors for gardening, hiking, camping, etc. That being the case, we are advocats for a healthy and vibrant earth. We are very politically inclined and follow events closely. 

AARP seems to be right up our alley 😄

Hi there!

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Hi @klmajor Kathy and welcome to the online community.

Sounds like you are in the right place, all right. Enjoy!

[richardsonchristine]

I'll be back later for a longer conversation. Love your post.

[Epster]

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@richardsonchristine wrote:
I'll be back later for a longer conversation. Love your post.

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Hi @richardsonchristine! Welcome to the online community. Looking forward to your posts!

[waves45jl]

HI, Recently retired last March. I have 5 grandchildren. 3 on the East Coast and 2 in Arizonia. We have 2 Shih Tzu dogs that are 13 and 15 years old. Would like to travel to the National Parks here and there.

Summer was not too exciting as I broke my ankle and am just starting to be able to walk with a cane. Hope to get out of this walking boot next Friday. Fingers crossed my surgeon says okay.

Julia

[Epster]

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@waves45jl wrote:

HI, Recently retired last March. I have 5 grandchildren. 3 on the East Coast and 2 in Arizonia. We have 2 Shih Tzu dogs that are 13 and 15 years old. Would like to travel to the National Parks here and there.

Summer was not too exciting as I broke my ankle and am just starting to be able to walk with a cane. Hope to get out of this walking boot next Friday. Fingers crossed my surgeon says okay.

Julia

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Hi @waves45jl Julia and welcome to the online community! I join you in your hope that your walking boot is removed next Friday! 🙂  Maybe you'll be able to travel to a national park or two this winter?

[j897749s]

Hello my name is Janet. Enjoying my age. I have 4 children and waiting for the grands... None as yet. My hubby and I live in NY and working towards retirement planning in the next 10 years 

[Epster]

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@j897749s wrote:

Hello my name is Janet. Enjoying my age. I have 4 children and waiting for the grands... None as yet. My hubby and I live in NY and working towards retirement planning in the next 10 years 

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Hi @j897749s, Janet, and welcome to the online community. 

It's good to enjoy the age you are! Good for you! 🙂 DH and I are in the home stretch of retirement as well. 

[annej388808]

Photo taken 2015Hello from Georgia. I'm looking forward to exchanging chats, information, thoughts, ideas,  etc. with all of you.

I'm a single, retired school teacher who enjoys life and people in general.

Volunteer work has always been important to me in community where I live/civic/church/school. One example: I volunteer teach illiterate adults reading at the public library. A very rewarding experience because these adults really want to learn.

Again, I look forward to meeting all of you active members.

[Epster]

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@annej388808 wrote:

Photo taken 2015Hello from Georgia. I'm looking forward to exchanging chats, information, thoughts, ideas,  etc. with all of you.

I'm a single, retired school teacher who enjoys life and people in general.

Volunteer work has always been important to me in community where I live/civic/church/school. One example: I volunteer teach illiterate adults reading at the public library. A very rewarding experience because these adults really want to learn.

Again, I look forward to meeting all of you active members.

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@annej388808  Hi! (waves)  Nice to have you here. I hope you have had a chance to look around and that you've found topics of interest. If you have questions, ask away. Somebody will saunter by with an answer. 🙂

Gorgeous photo. Your hair is beautiful, btw. 🙂

[kimmerone82]

Hi I’m Kim. I live in Manassas Virginia. I have three children and 7 grandchildren. I live with and care for my elderly mother while working full time. After 44 years of marriage I sadly lost my husband to cancer 9 month ago. I look forward to interacting with people whom have similar experiences and meeting new friends in the community.

[onebravegirl]

I am a wife, Mom to 14 and 16 year old daughters. I don't have any siblings per se. I oversee and manage the care of my Mom who has advanced MS. She is non weight bearing and has live in caregivers. She has always managed her life and finances by herself. Recently she has cognitive decline and I have to find a way to talk to her about taking over her finances, overseeing her finances and managing the caregivers to make sure that they do not take advantage of her. She will run out of money within the next 3-5 years and I have no idea what to do when that happens. I will have kids in college when that happens. I am extremely stressed about this. 

[c627088b]

Hi, my name is Carolyn.  It's great to connect with all of you.  Looking forward to learning the many things this community has to offer.  I am a licensed realtor on Long Island, NY. 

[JackSparrow1]

Oh, hey, another "call me for business" ad. Are you here to attract friends, or to attract business? (rhetorical) just sayin'.  

[m160735k]

Hi This is Mary.

[JackSparrow1]

I'm responding to the latest post, which popped up in my Email. It from from an IT developer/ programmer in state of LA. Sounds to me more like a "help wanted" ad, or "I can do this stuff" ad... not much like a "Hi, I'm so'n'so, let's do lunch" kind of thing. Isn't there another Topic Thread for that sort of thing??? (Rhetorical  😛  )

[m99255j]

Hi! I'm a newbie. 😂 I'm trying to figure things out here. It seems simple so far... Any rooms you suggest I start with? I'm 54, single lady, recently retired who would love to meet people, interesting conversation, love to learn new things and especially enjoy people and history.

[JackSparrow1]

What part of the country do you live in? That might help, especially if you might, oneway, want to actually meet people, and make "real" friends. 😉

[m514559f]

Ahoy Jack! ⚓️

I 🌹 am originally from the Cocoa Beach 🌊🏝 , FL and Cape Canaveral 🚀🛰, FL area. I 🌹 live in the big city 🌃 of Tampa 🎭🎨🎫, FL now.

You?

[JackSparrow1]

Ahoy. My wife and I live in the little Central Oregon Coastal town of Lincoln City, OR.

We both grew up in big cities, but really enjoy the small town here.  She is a Blackfoor Indian, and I am a pirate... descended from Pirates.  I had a promise of getting my own ship once, but, typically, the promise was reniged. Thanks for taking an interest. Jack. 

[m514559f]

Hi 👋 Newbie! ☺️

I'm 🌹 a newbie too! Your introduction caught my eye because I am a history buff also. My grandfather 👴 peaked my interest in history when I was young. His interest was in the Civil War because he was born in the south. I was born in the Cocoa Beach/Cape Canaveral, Florida area. I live in Tampa, Florida now. 

I am a 59 year old single young lady. 😉 When I was attending college my history professor 👨‍🏫 recommended that I become a history professor because I always aced his tests. I wish I had followed his advice, but my interests at the time took me in another direction. I obtained my Bachelors degree in Gerontology and am one semester away from my Masters degree in Public Health. I am currently using my Gerontology training for volunteer opportunities in my church.

I consider myself to be retired also, but I have been on Social Security Disability for the past three years. I would enjoy 😊 learning more about you.

Have a blessed day! 🙏🏻☀️