Who Knows

The list of people who know about my plans continues to grow. I'm still keeping it away from people associated with work but I'm telling a few more of my friends. This weekend, I met with our long-time family friend Jay McElroy to tell him that I planned to quit my job and that I was "talking" with the Peace Corps. Jay is 90 years old and lives alone. His family and my family have been friends for more than 75 years. Jay was not at all surprised that I was thinking of quitting my job. He knows it has been very frustrating for me for the past year and was very supportive of me doing that. He did ask me a lot of questions to make sure I had thought this out thoroughly and finally said I can tell you are not making an "Impulsive" move. (He and I have a running joke that he never does anything impulsive).

He was not overly familiar with the Peace Corps other than the basics that most people know. He was very happy to hear that I was planning to keep my home and I told him that while I didn't know exactly what I would do when I got back, South Florida would be the first area where I will look. He seemed happy to know that and said he would miss seeing me while I was away, but then joked that his doctor has told him he would live to be 100 so we would still have time to catch up when I return. He also asked me if he could tell some mutual friends, Dick and Peggy Pitken about my plans and I told him that would be okay.

I also confided my plans to my friend Bob Pruitt. Bob is an e-mail buddy that I've known for 7 or 8 years. He and his wife live on St. George Island. In his e-mail back to me he said:

Steve, pursue your dream - if it is the Peace Corps, great - if something else,
also great! Don't even think about what others may say or think - it's your life
- go for it. I am certainly doing that, and I would encourage you to do the
same.

That's probably the best encouragement I've gotten yet. It's a pretty strong "Go For It". I'm hoping to do exactly that!