Mitchell Oakley: Catching up is a hard thing to do

I have been retired since 2011. From day one, I committed myself to catching up all the things that I had failed to do while working. Much of that centered around several goals that included working on a book about Ayden sports during the 1962-71 era, cleaning out, organizing files and other memorabilia that I’d accumulated over the years, restore a tractor or two, and organize my farm maintenance shop.

Someone once said that a messy desk is a sign of genius. I always thought it was a sign of having too much work to do and not enough time to hide the mess inside overcrowded desk drawers. According to Inc.com, the University of Minnesota had researchers who, in 2017, “… tested how well students came up with new ideas when working in orderly versus disorderly work areas.”

What were the results? “Participants in the messy room generated the same number of ideas for new uses as their clean-room counterparts. But their ideas were rated as more interesting and creative when evaluated by impartial judges,” according to Inc.com.

Now that I’ve developed an excuse for a messy desk, I will move this column along. All my “stuff” developed over 40 years of newspapering went home to an outside office I utilize for writing and keeping business records. After unloading all that “stuff” in the building I had all my counters, cabinets and desk full. There were some leftovers that were put on the floor. Over my retirement years I’ve made some inroads into getting rid of some of it by throwing things away and by donating items to both Ayden and Grifton museums. I’ve also managed to organize much of what I’d accumulated but the desk is still messy, and my countertops are not yet empty. But I’m trying.

I’ve learned that being retired doesn’t leave me without things to do. In fact, things get added to my long list. This past week, for example, I’ve been trying to clean out my keys. Why? Because my family needs to know what key goes to what. I don’t know how I’ve accumulated so many. Matching them up to locks that aren’t being used and to locks that are being used has been time-consuming. But I am finally getting the nerve to throw out the keys I can’t match up. Soon they will be trashed or taken to someone who can recycle them.

Retirement and getting older also means doctors’ appointments, more days of rest and recuperation between ills and drawn blood about every three months or so. I am still able to work in more organization in my shop. This past week I have installed metal pegboard and hanged tools so I can see what I need rather than having them hidden in a drawer or thrown in a pile. The shop, just a few months ago was full of stuff but now I have some newfound space. I’m also seeing that I have duplicate tools. I think I need a yard sale just to lighten the load a little. Although a yard sale is a chore within itself, so I just might opt to add it to the catch-up list.

I’ve managed to restore one tractor over the years. I’d planned on a second restoration but when my legs started bothering me, I had to change plans. Retirement is like operating a business. Sometimes a person must change directions for any number of reasons. That’s especially so if one’s health dictates it. It must be quick decisions, too.

The book!

I was moving along with the book I’m writing until one day I sat at the computer staring into space because I could not get my thoughts together. Writer’s block? Lost interest? I’ve tried several times to get back to writing, only to face that same blank screen. I’m hoping I can get my writer’s mind back on topic and finish the book. It needs to be written.

Just this past week, with juggling all the other things I was trying to accomplish, I managed to write about the summer of 1971. I call it the “Summer of Discontent,” when a State Highway Patrol trooper shot a Black man near Grifton in late August, angering local African Americans. Parade protests were held, led by Golden Frinks, a North Carolina leader in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. The protests led to many arrests for marching without a permit. Eventually, the unrest is believed to have been the cause of an occupied bombing of Ayden-Grifton High School only days after the new school was opened in its present location. It was a challenging time for all concerned.

I’m not sure I will ever catch up with all that’s before me, but I am thankful God allows me to wake up each day, and offers me something to look forward to. I pray the book is one of the goals I catch up on!