Retirement is a great gift. I have not ceased to be grateful for it and I hope (and question whether) future generations will be able to experience it. I have been retired since 1991, although I returned briefly to serve as Acting Chairperson during the 1992-93 year.

Immediately after retirement I traveled quite a bit, something I had long wanted to do. I was able to go on safari in Kenya, an adventure for me. I followed that by flying to London on the Concorde, attending matches at Wimbledon, taking a back roads tour of Wales and visiting Ireland. Other destinations included the Caribbean, Alaska, Hawaii and the countries along the Danube River.

I began spending winters in Florida. In 2002 I moved permanently into an active retirement community in Ft. Myers.

After a time I wondered if I could do something entirely different than what I did during my career. I had always wanted to write a novel and, in fact, had a plot in mind. But I never really thought I would do it and I waited nine years after retirement to try.

Since I started writing I've published four novels. When I began I only wondered if I could write a novel. I had no intention of writing more than one, but I found I enjoyed it. I'm convinced that the process helps keep the brain cells alive. I find it very creative and satisfying. It's clear to me too that sociology is a perfect background for writing my novels, dealing as they do with patterns of behavior, relationships and social situations and issues. I find it very creative and satisfying.

Book number four, Of Sin and Blot, a mystery, just came out, following The Revision, Under My Hat, and Another Hat. There may be more. I have tried to experiment by writing different kinds of books, hoping to find my niche within the next fifteen or twenty years.