I have started and stopped setting up this blog so many times..  Does anyone really care about what I think?  what I am doing?  I guess we'll see.
We'll start with the name of this blog--Moving to Uranus.  Many years ago, I told students about my recurring dream about Uranus (the planet.  There is no double meaning here).  In this dream, I was preparing to retire from teaching.  Texas had mandated that retired teachers must move to Uranus.  Why, I have no idea.  I didn't want to move, but those were the rules.  Ironically, the Uranus in my dreams looked a lot like the house I grew up in.  I also knew that it was indeed Uranus because there was a sign at the planet's airport that stated "Welcome to Uranus." 
I retired four years ago but not really.  After a short break, I began substitute teaching and until the Covid-19 pandemic hit, I was in a classroom almost every day.  It's been a great four years, and I have some unbelievable experiences.  In April 2017, I spent ten days in the Philippines retracing my father's World War II steps from Manila to the various POW camps to the hell ships.  I say that this trip changed my life for many reasons including making several lifelong friendships and motivating me to write about my dad's POW experiences.  The book, "Living in the Shadow of a Hell Ship," will be published by UNT Press in Fall 2020.  I also had the opportunity to travel to Japan in September 2019 as the guest of the Japanese government.  This was through the U.S.-Japan POW Friendship Program.  After a few days in Tokyo and meeting with government officials (and receiving the official POW record of our dads), the participants had the opportunity to travel to our dads' Japanese POW camps.  I rode a bullet train to Sendai.  Sendai is about the same distance from Tokyo as from DFW to Austin, and the trip took 90 minutes.  I haven't made it to Austin in less than five hours in years.  Near Sendai, I visited the Mitsubishi metals mine where my dad was a slave laborer during the last nine months of World War II in 1945.  Mitsubishi officials led the three of us descendants on a private tour of the mine.  My dad's memoirs are so descriptive that I instantly recognized the path that the POWs took to go to work and the mine entrance where he was beaten by a guard for saying colorful language about Tojo. 
Yes, it's been a good retirement--good trips, new experiences, new friends, new accomplishments. 
Then Ash Wednesday 2020 happened.  That morning, I awakened to the sound of water dripping in my house.  Every homeowner's nightmare had happened:  the water heater in the attic was leaking.  I filed my insurance claim, the professionals arrived to dry out the wet carpets and walls in the affected rooms, and adjusters made their proposals.  However,  now we are at Palm Sunday, and nothing has been repaired.  There is no padding under the carpet in my back bedroom/study and living room..  I can't put my study back in place.  I am in suspension.  However, life has stopped for Covid-19, so I will have to wait.
My next blog will discuss Covid-19 and its effects on our lives..  Stay safe, and stay well. 

A student painted this ceiling tile in honor of my dreams several years ago.  It is still displayed in my former classroom at Ryan High in Denton.