Just because I feel like it.

I write when I don’t have to write. Then writing comes easy. There’s no pressure to produce. So I produce. I didn’t always enjoy writing when I had to write for deadline. When I had to produce. When I had to be effective. Immediately. That’s the nice thing about being retired. I’m more or less my own boss. I proceed at my own rate. On my own timetable. I’m not compelled by job obligations to show up and produce. Very nice, indeed. Now I often feel like writing. At the oddest moments. When I wake at 3 in the morning. Or when I’m out for a walk in the middle of the day. So that’s what I do. I get out of bed and come to the computer. Or I sit down on a park bench and take out pen and paper. And I write exactly what I want to write. Not what an editor tells me to write. I don’t have an assignment. Took me years to get into this position. I had to live long enough to retire. And still feel in tip-top health. And the miraculous thing is that I’ve survived long enough to become a lover. I’m not required to be a lover. But I’ve learned to love life. Naturally. So that’s what I do. On a daily basis. Just because I feel like it. –Jim Broede