The Ricker likes black cars.

I know I've mentioned this before, but all his cars have been black. Two black Cadillacs, two black Mercedes, and one black Isuzu Amigo in between (for his second midlife crisis). What's important is that the Ricker's cars are always sleek. Yeah, he has all sorts of other crap--gold package, cloth top, cell phone antennas--on the cars, but they are sleek. They have no badges. He hates dealership badges. (Note: who doesn't? Even my wife's father takes the badges off, and he used to own a dealership.)

His current car (the 1999 Cadillac, not the 1992) does not have a badge on it. He took it off when he bought the car. However, he couldn't get all the glue off. Instead of reaching for a mild solvent, or slowly picking off the gunk, he reached for the "next" best thing: paint thinner. Yup, he rubbed paint thinner on the back of his car.

Needless to say, it was not a good idea. Even though it took all the glue residue off, it took quite a bit of the clear coat off as well. Smart move, Ricker. Whenever he drives, he has this nice reminder--a matte spot on the trunk of the car--of the time he took paint thinner to the paint of his car. I know I would have been in trouble if I had done the same thing.

The Ricker finally retired.

Retired for the second time, that is. He tried to retire about four years ago but got bored very quickly, so he went back to work (or in his case, "work"), doing basically the same thing for a much smaller company. Quite a few days (not to mention a ton of errands, a few movies and a lawsuit) later, he retired again.

For all intents and purposes, he retired in March or April, when he stopped working. But due to some extenuating (and unfortunate and ultimately lucky) circumstances, he's been on short-term disability for the last six months. And that disability insurance just expired. He's been living the dream: no job but a steady income.

The Ricker is in a different place this time. I think this retirement will stick, though he will undoubtedly pick up an assortment of odd jobs and investments. The difference is, I think he's ready for it this time. I don't hear him freaking out about income, freaking out about insurance or freaking out about too much free time. Instead, he's traveling. Chile last year and La Paz this year. September in Oregon and October in Arizona. Finally a trip to New York (hopefully) in April or May. And a number of trips to Cabo. You see, he is all about Cabo right now. He loves it. It's like Cabo was just discovered, and he bought the first timeshare.

I'm glad he's getting out of Mo-Town. I'm glad the Ricker and Mrs. Ricker are foot loose and fancy free again. I just hope they watch out for Montezuma's Revenge.

Oh, and I just found out the Ricker meant La Paz, Mexico, not La Paz, Bolivia. I bet people get that mixed up all the time.