As we were twisting and turning through a construction zone between Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska, a poor motorist was honking his horn at me and giving me a one-fingered salute. 

         And you know what? Not too many years ago, that angry motorist would have been me.   

         But now, I am the other guy.   I am the person sitting up there trying to guide this Leviathan. This 40-foot, diesel-powered motorhome can be a handful as it heads through these tight twists and turns. And pity the poor guy or gal in an ordinary car trying to get around me.

         As far as I know that was the only salute of that type that was aimed at us during our recent 840-mile drive from Lander to Harlan, Iowa.

         We made the trip because Nancy’s mom has been ailing. She is still with us, I am happy to report, as this column is being written.

         Readers of this column know how much I like to complain about Wyoming’s spring weather. Well, Iowa is having its own version of a Wyoming spring, too. They had snow less than a week ago. It has been cold, windy, rainy and even tornado-prone.

         It does look a lot greener than Wyoming, despite the chilly weather. But with the high humidity, that is a constant in the corn state, well, that cold north wind has quite the bite to it.

         Fuel prices at the pump are scary high. Took 100.7 gallons of diesel to make this trip and at $4.09 per gallon, it took a few more swipes with the credit card than normal to finally get the tank topped off.

         We have officially named our motorhome FollowMyNose and actually own the web domain followmynose.com. 

         Most people think the name has to do with my last name Sniffin and my long-standing career as a journalist and investigative reporter.

         Not true.

         It actually refers to my occasionally determined bride of 44 years who with her sturdy German genes gets lost every once in awhile because she tends to keep going in the direction her nose is pointed. Do not, and I stress do NOT, ever ask Nancy for directions. You both will be lost by the time she is done with you.

         Wyoming coal was in the news while I was in Iowa, but it had nothing to do with energy production or global warming. It concerned a horrible train wreck.

         Near Red Oak, south of where I was staying, a long 130-car train full of Powder River Basin Wyoming coal slammed into a smaller train carrying equipment. The engineer and the conductor of the long train were both killed. They were Iowans working for the BNSF railroad and were both 48 years old. Some 18 coal trains a day passed along that track in SW Iowa. But not after that. Took several days to clean up the mess.

         Another story about Iowa:

One of my favorite newspapers in the world is the Des Moines Register.  As little kids, my brothers and I were carriers for that paper back in the 1950s.

         I bought a copy of the paper and saw something in it that I had never seen before – a full-page obituary about a woman with the incredible name of: Marijane Auten Johnson Bensmiller Zegel VanNess Torjesen.

         Her son felt her life was so interesting it merited a full page “paid” obit in the state’s largest newspaper.

         Marijane, 93, had recently died and had actually outlived all five of her husbands.

         She had led quite a life and her life story was interesting but did it merit a full page? Not sure.

         But it got me thinking. People are often so pious when it comes to obituaries. Families of prominent people always hope that the local paper has someone on the staff that will write a tribute. As former a publisher I have written hundred of these tributes.

         But in this day and age, many newspapers had fairly transient editors (not any of the papers that carry my column, though).

         I would suggest that descendants of recently deceased loved ones not be so timid. Why not spend a few bucks on a full-page obit?

         Or here is an even better idea. Why don’t you spend that money on your mom or dad or outstanding person while they are still alive? It would be worth every cent. I am sure your local newspapers would be very cooperative with you if you broached such an idea to them.

         This week, I have decided that fellow retirees Jim Hicks of Buffalo, Hal Herron of Riverton, Carrol Orrison of Casper and Jack Speight of Cheyenne may have gotten it right. Perhaps the best road to a happy retirement is to fire up your Harley and ride, ride, ride!

         Last week, I lamented in this space about the sudden arrival of actual retirement, meaning the sale of a business, signing up for Social Security and Medicare and even a health scare or two.

That missive prompted a large amount of helpful (and some fun) advice from both friends and advisors who all want to help me get over this hurdle to the next stage of my life.

          Hicks, Herron, Orrison and Speight are veteran Harley-Davidson motorcycle riders who travel around the country with a pack of fellow aging businessmen.

         Not sure any of them has gotten into any bar brawls recently – of course, that is a little hard to do when you go to bed at 8 p.m. Just kidding, boys.

         Two other of my idols are Clay James of Jackson and Gene Bryan, formerly of Cheyenne and Cody.

         They both bought motorhomes and put thousands of miles on their rigs seeing the country. Clay even made a six-week trip to Alaska, the ultimate motorhome experience.

         So far, I have copied them. Nancy and I have put over 10,000 miles motorhoming in the past two years. We plan to continue.

         Will we strap some Harley’s to the back of the rig? Not yet, boys. Not yet.

         Both Clay (with wife Shay) and Gene (with wife Jeannie) have built new winter homes in Arizona, though, and pretty much gotten the motorhome bug out of their systems. Hmm.

         Debbie Hammons of Worland offered up a negative reaction to last week’s column when she wrote me:

         “Okay.  Here`s what I think:  apparently, you are still conflicted about retirement, because your writing lacks its normal clarity and purpose.  This is kind of a wandering around in the wilderness piece.  And I don`t think that is where you really are.

"Retired how does it feel?  I want to know!  Be honest with me.  I`m right behind you, I`m watching my friends enter into it, and like all things with our generation, I`m looking for a new model a new way to do it.  But I need you to be completely honest.  Don`t hold back.

“We interviewed a number of WWII vets this last week for a Wyoming PBS show, and one of them said, ‘A man has to have a purpose.’  During our lifetimes, our purpose has been our work and our families.  At the time of retirement, we leave our work behind us and our families are grown.  

“For many of us, we are seeking a new purpose something that gives meaning to our lives.  We`re ready to contribute but in a different way than our regular work.  Whoever figures out how to enlist all of the baby boomers into volunteer work in their communities and state will be doing all of us a tremendous service!”

Billings retiree Steve Fenter says: “As a person more ‘senior’ and a few years into the R world, let me add a good friend’s advice: Never say you’re retired.  You have now become a consultant. I suspect people like you and me who loved our jobs have a different view of retirement. People, who worked in a cubicle, the cab of a truck or spent a life dragging irrigation canvas around an irrigated plot, might see it differently.

“Congratulations.   I wish you good books and good memories of tomorrow.”

Former Buffalo legislator Doug Osborn offered up: “After you get well beyond 65 you may recognize that for many, it is time for a new project or different career.

“I recommend the two that I have had: ten years in the legislature and, so far, five years working as a volunteer on the Green House Living for Sheridan project. Both have been immensely educational and gratifying. Your area has a Green House project that needs some help . . .”  

         Lander’s retired tourism and hospitality guru Marvin Brown offered: “Welcome to the retired and unemployed world, folks.  You will now learn what we mean about how did we ever have time to work because we are now so busy when we retired? You can, however, have new interesting choices of how to be busy.  Congratulations on your new JOBS. “

         Events in recent weeks have left me somewhat personally conflicted.

         Especially conflicted about the rules of work versus my own goals and situations.

         Before going further, can I tell you a story that made quite an impression on me back in 1986?

         We were riding in a train in Great Britain. We were sitting across from a nicely dressed older man. His name was Nigel. He had recently retired from working on that very railroad. He was looking forward to a life of leisure.

         He was 60 years old.

         At the tender age of 40 at the time, I told him that it was unimaginable for me to ponder my retirement. “I want to be doing some kind of work until death,” I said.

         “Oh, you Americans,” he said. “You just don’t get it.”

         Nigel went on: “In our country, we know there are only so many jobs. I finished my job and now it is time to quit my job and get out of the way so someone else can take it over.”

         He said that system worked well in his country.

         So is something similar to Nigel’s situation is what just happened to me?

         Today when my age is five years older than Nigel’s was back then, I guess I have retired. My wife Nancy and I just sold our most recent PR and Ad Agency business (Wyoming Inc.) to a sharp young couple of 40-year olds, Joanna and Jared Kail of Lander.

         They are excited. And we are excited for them. Their infectious enthusiasm reminds me of all those business opportunities we experienced over the past 40 years. 

         Now, it appears, we are going the other way.

         Are we just “stepping aside,” as Nigel described it, “and letting the next generation take over?”

         Recently, Nancy had to listen to my list of complaints when she asked me about my stress levels in recent months.

         Individually, the following occurrences should have been easy to handle, but in total, have been somewhat of a grind.

         Besides selling a business, there was signing up for Social Security and Medicare. There was that chronic bad back that was affecting everything that I did. There was the serious illness affecting my mother-in-law that probably will be fatal. And there was a brief medical scare that luckily turned out to be no problem.

         In my younger years, handling the six things listed above plus another dozen or so would have been easy. But lately, the proverbial cup seemed likely to overflow. Is it a sign of getting older that you can’t deal with as much stress as you did as a younger person? 

         I apologize if this column sounds like some lame “all about me” manifesto. Sometimes it is hard to find things to write about and it seemed like maybe we are not the only people in Wyoming in their mid-60s going through these kinds of times.

         Despite worrying about some things, our overall picture is quite bright, my cheery bride of 44 years tells me. We are pretty much free to go anywhere we want (in our used motorhome) or any other way.

         We are anxious to see our 11 grandchildren scattered across the country. We have friends and relatives all over, too, that we need to go visit.

         Meanwhile there are those two books on which I am working. One is called Strong Winds, Blowing Snow, Slick in Spots. It is just about finished and is a compilation of favorite columns.

And the second one, well, is the culmination of a long-term goal of mine. It is a book about ‘FirstBoomers,” those folks born between 1946 and 1956. You may hear more about that project later in this space.

         So, perhaps this column is just the ramblings of what an older man thinks about when he realizes that, by just about every definition he has ever used, he is – “an old man.”

         My late father always said when people complained about being old, “well, it’s much better than the alternative.” 

         So, let’s finish with a joke:

         A man suspected his wife was hard of hearing.

         He stood 20 feet behind her and said: “Can you hear me?”

         No response.

         He stood 10 feet behind her and said: “Can you hear me?”

         No response.

         He stood right behind her and said: “Can you hear me?”

         She turned around quickly and snapped, “For the third time, yes, I can hear you!”

         Hmmm, maybe it is time to get out of the way for the next generation coming up.

         Certainly the two most famous Wyoming politicians of all time are former Vice-President Dick Cheney and former U. S. Senator Al Simpson.

         Both men are aging gracefully and you would assume that they would not be on the national stage that much in their waning years. Not so.

         In a column three years ago I put forth the idea that Cheney was probably the most famous Wyomingite in all of history. I still think that is true. Some of our state’s more serious historians thought Buffalo Bill and Sacagawea might have him beat. But I digress . . .

         The latest big news for Cheney is that the HBO cable TV channel just announced they are doing a mini-series about him. 

         That’s right. No mini-series about either George W. Bush or George. H. W. Bush or even Bill Clinton, all presidents. But THIS Vice-President. Yes, indeed.

         The mini-series is based on the fascinating book Angler by Barton Gellman, which I thought treated Cheney fairly. Angler was the name used for the fishing fanatic Veep by the Secret Service.

Not sure who they will cast as Cheney, but Richard Dreyfuss did a pretty good job in the George W. Bush movie by Oliver Stone called, simply W.

         There are a series of comedians from the Saturday Night Live show who would love to play him, too.

         The one former SNL actor who looks the most like Cheney to me these days, with his balding dome and white hair is, of all people, Chevy Chase. Check it out.

         Cheney has been looking a little wan lately and has lost some weight.

         There have been reports that he is in line for a heart transplant. He has had a number of heart attacks over the years and has used up just about every modern apparatus known to man to keep his heart working.

         Last July, he had a mechanical heart pump installed which does most of the work of pumping blood through his arteries.

         He is also putting the finishing touches on his own autobiography called In My Time, which is expected to hit the bookstores on Aug. 30.

         Cheney’s best buddy Simpson has been in the news a lot in the past 18 months as co-chairman of what is called the National Deficit Commission.

         That commission came up with some important and necessary steps that the country needs to take in order to solve our national debt problems.

         Simpson was asked by President Barack Obama to co-chair the commission with Democrat Erskine Bowles. Both men were in Wyoming earlier this year talking about their ideas.

         During his recent time back on the national stage again, Simpson has been a quote machine.

         During one infamous interview, Simpson chimed in about today’s young people. He said the following:

         “They don’t write thank you notes for their Christmas presents. They are walking around with their pants down and with their caps on backwards, listening to Enema Man and Snoopy Snoopy Poop Dog.”

         Not sure how intentional his comments were, but his hilarious references to famous rap music stars Eminem and Snoop Dog made me laugh out loud.

         National PBS just featured a one-hour program about Simpson, of which Wyoming’s own Geoff O’Gara was a major force. O’Gara had earlier done a two-part series on Simpson for Wyoming PBS.

         Among the things Simpson said was the rather unimportant but new term for our dictionary, “sparrow fart.” He consistently referred to things that might seem important to an individual but in the grand scheme of things really do not matter “any more than a sparrow fart.”

         Not sure Simpson really said the following, but he was quoted as describing President Obama’s management style as that if he were a marksman, it would be:

         “Ready, Aim, Aim, Aim, Aim, Aim, Aim . . . “

On the Internet, Simpson is being blasted from coast to coast for a comment he made about the U. S. Government being “the Cow with 300 million teats.” He did apologize for that.

         Meanwhile back in Jackson, Dick and Lynne Cheney attended the movie True Grit at the local movie theatre. Their daughter said the Cheney’s gave the movie “a thumb’s up.”

         Which reminds me of a recent Simpson’s comment, already published a few months ago in this column:

         “Lately people have been giving me the thumb’s up, when I pass through airports,” he says. “That is much better than that other one-fingered salute I was used to getting.”