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By J. Edward Howell Jr.
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Hey Guys!  If you are nearing retirement age or are already retired, please do not wait until you are in your late eighties to move into a retirement community. Some of you say to yourself,  “I will just stay where I am until I die,” and that’s alright for some, but for those of you who may desire the social comfort and support that is offered by retirement communities such as The Village at Woods Edge in Franklin or Lake Prince in Suffolk, move. At the same time, you still have enough vim and vigor to do it quickly. 

Marti and I have just completed our move to the Village; let me confess to you that it about wiped me out. I just turned ninety on June 4 and did not receive a gift of youth. 

Our new home is a cottage located at 101 Deerpath Lane. It is a lovely abode; I am sure it will soon become home to us. Everyone here, including residents and staff, has proven to be friendly, kind, courteous, and willing to assist us at every step of the process. The people of the moving company also were of the same description. The moving charges were reasonable, too. Now that I am settled in, let me give you a little idea of what Marti and I experienced during the process. Remember, Marti and I have lived on this little farm for sixty-four years. Together we slowly converted a nice little farm into “The Homeplace”.times were not always the best. I was a farmer, and in the thirty years I farmed, my partner and brother-in-law experienced three drought years: 1978, 1980 and 1983. ’78 and ’83 were not severe but still financially hurtful. The drought in 1980 was devastating. It affected all of the farmers county-wide. What peanuts and corn we could salvage were contaminated by Aspergillus flavus. This is a poisonous fungus that destroys the edibility of the crop.  Fortunately, the FDA (Federal Dept. of Agriculture) made low-interest loans available through the Small Business Administration.

I won’t say how much we had to borrow, but paying the loans back was like buying the farms the second time. In order to add some funds to the family coffer, I took on two newspaper routes for the Virginian-Pilot. I was up at 1:30 AM to pick up the papers and finished delivering at 6:30 AM. I would then eat breakfast, get on a tractor, and work until 7:00 PM. Then, I went home for supper and went right to bed. Papers are delivered seven days a week. To add to my concerns, Jamie, Jeff and Kim were starting college — another expense. Jamie and Jeff obtained student loans that paid part of each one’s tuition to assist me. There were good years, and it was not too long before we were on good, sound financial footing. 

Marti was an RN and worked when she could, between children, to also bolster the family income. I retired from farming in 1984 and went into real estate. After completing my studies at the Commercial and Industrial Real Estate Institute as a broker, I went to work with telecommunication companies as a site acquisition specialist. I worked for Verizon, Nextel, PrimeCo, Ntelos, and others as they placed cell towers throughout Virginia and North Carolina. I also worked in Maryland and D.C. These were the most profitable years of my life. Marti has been one of the best marriage partners any man could ever hope for. And she is still by my side, supporting me and the children. I am trying to get you to understand the deep roots people put down in “The Homeplace” as they move through life. In sixty-four years, Marti and I have worked, laughed, cried, and experienced the losses of our parents and as the years went by, more and more of our friends and family moved on to glory. Over the years, it is natural to accumulate “stuff.” It slowly grows, and you never even give it a second thought until it is time to make “The Big Move”. Then comes the “Downsize”. It ain’t easy! Fortunately for Marti and me, our youngest son, Barry, is moving with his wife and daughter from Los Angeles, California, to take over the “Homeplace.” I can leave a lot of tools and things he will need to maintain the place. I pray that he will love the place as Marti and I have.

J. EDWARD HOWELL JR. is a native of Southampton County. He can be reached via email at jimmy9298@charter.net.