Make sure you click the TGO Photo Club Photos in the left column – Dave Cesari posted some great photos – “Snow and a story of the Northern Shrike.”
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“My story which was prompted by the TV coverage of the celebration of H W’s life.
The legacy of George H W Bush set me to thinking – What a nice person!! And in addition, he seemed so happy and satisfied. Having lived 15 years in Texas after H W was president I consider him part of my life – George H W was one of my mentors – of course he did not know that and I am sorry for that – I would have liked to say “thanks” to him in person.
How does an ex-President continue with a happy life after the presidency? No access to Air force one, no demanding schedule, but still not a normal citizen. Security everywhere you go, some media following you, folks wanting to see what you are doing – tough to get privacy.
When I walk into a cafe’ for a cup of coffee no one notices – when a Bush, Clinton, or Obama walks into that cafe’ everyone takes notice. When I wake up in the morning, I make a cup of coffee, and my daily demands are pretty much as they were for years, but for an ex-president it must appear like a “nothing” day in front of them. Even the demands required to design and build a presidential library must be small compared to meeting with the head of a hostile nation before flying on Air Force One across the country to speak at a political rally before flying back to DC to meet with Senate Leaders on gun control legislation after handling hundreds of other things brought to you by your staff. Now that is not a “nothing” day.
Anyway, George’s legacy got me going to the internet to search out two subjects – 1. What life style makes for a happy satisfied life? and 2. What do ex-presidents do all day long?
Here is a list of 10 things to do for a good life style – After watching on TV the celebration of George’s life, I think the Bush’s must have read this list:
- Have a daily routine
2. Do hours of learning for the joy of learning
Exercise, nature, challenge for sure
3. Do hours of outside activities that offer exercise, nature, challenge
4. Fulfill daily commitments -To friends, family, community
5. Be tranquil by seeing the full half, telling the truth, speaking precisely
6. Select media for enjoyment, dance to music – If only in your mind
7. Eat well – Vegetables, fruit, protein, cheese, wine
8. Drink water often
9. Make people laugh. Choose people who laugh with you.
10 Be kind, accept others for you know not of their reasons
Now what do ex-Presidents do after the daily demands of that office. I found this list on the internet:
Presidents’ Occupations
| President | Major Jobs Before the Presidency | Jobs After the Presidency |
| George Washington | surveyor, planter, general of the Army of the United Colonies | planter, lieutenant-general of all the U.S. armies |
| John Adams | schoolteacher, lawyer, diplomat, vice president under Washington | writer |
| Thomas Jefferson | writer, inventor, lawyer, architect, governor of Virginia, secretary of state under Washington, vice president under Adams | writer, gentleman farmer, rector at the University of Virginia |
| James Madison | lawyer, political theorist, U.S. congressman, secretary of state under Jefferson | rector at the University of Virginia |
| James Monroe | soldier, lawyer, U.S. senator, governor of Virginia | writer, regent at the University of Virginia |
| John Quincy Adams | lawyer, diplomat, professor, U.S. senator, secretary of state under Monroe | U.S. representative from Massachusetts |
| Andrew Jackson | soldier, U.S. congressman, U.S. senator, governor of Florida | gentleman farmer |
| Martin Van Buren | lawyer, U.S. senator, governor of New York, vice president under Jackson | activist for Free Soil Party |
| William Henry Harrison | soldier, diplomat, U.S. congressman, U.S. senator from Ohio | died in office |
| John Tyler | lawyer, U.S. congressman, U.S. senator, vice president under Harrison | lawyer, chancellor of the College of William and Mary, member of the Confederate House of Representatives |
| James Knox Polk | lawyer, U.S. congressman, governor of Tennessee | died 103 days after leaving office |
| Zachary Taylor | soldier | died in office |
| Millard Fillmore | lawyer, U.S. congressman, vice president under Taylor | rogue political activist, chancellor of the University of Buffalo |
| Franklin Pierce | lawyer, soldier, U.S. congressman, U.S. senator from New Hampshire | gentleman farmer |
| James Buchanan | lawyer, U.S. congressman, U.S. senator, U.S. secretary of state | writer |
| Abraham Lincoln | postmaster, lawyer, U.S. congressman from Illinois | died in office |
| Andrew Johnson | tailor, U.S. congressman, governor of Tennessee, U.S. senator from Tennessee, vice president under Lincoln | U.S. senator from Tennessee |
| Ulysses Simpson Grant | U.S. Army general | political activist, writer |
| Rutherford Birchard Hayes | lawyer, soldier, U.S. congressman, governor of Ohio | education activist, president of the National Prison Reform Association |
| James Abram Garfield | schoolteacher, soldier, U.S. representative from Ohio | died in office |
| Chester Alan Arthur | schoolteacher, lawyer, tariff collector, vice president under Garfield | lawyer |
| Grover Cleveland | sheriff, lawyer, mayor, governor of New York | reelected president |
| Benjamin Harrison | lawyer, soldier, journalist, U.S. senator from Indiana | lawyer, lecturer |
| William McKinley | soldier, lawyer, U.S. congressman, governor of Ohio | died in office |
| Theodore Roosevelt | rancher, soldier, governor of New York, vice president under McKinley | hunter, writer |
| William Howard Taft | lawyer, judge, dean of the University of Cincinnati Law School, U.S. secretary of war | professor, chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court |
| Woodrow Wilson | lawyer, professor, president of Princeton University, governor of New Jersey | retired in poor health |
| Warren Gamaliel Harding | newspaper editor, U.S. senator from Ohio | died in office |
| Calvin Coolidge | lawyer, governor of Massachusetts, vice president under Harding | writer, president of the American Antiquarian Society |
| Herbert Clark Hoover | engineer, U.S. secretary of commerce | chair of the Hoover Commission on administrative reform |
| Franklin Delano Roosevelt | lawyer, governor of New York | died in office |
| Harry S. Truman | farmer, soldier, haberdasher, judge, U.S. senator, vice president under Roosevelt | writer |
| Dwight David Eisenhower | supreme commander of the Allied forces in Europe, U.S. Army chief of staff | writer |
| John Fitzgerald Kennedy | journalist, U.S. congressman, U.S. senator from Massachusetts | died in office |
| Lyndon Baines Johnson | schoolteacher, soldier, congressman, U.S. senator from Texas, vice president under Kennedy | rancher, writer |
| Richard Milhous Nixon | lawyer, U.S. congressman, U.S. senator, vice president under Eisenhower | writer |
| Gerald Rudolph Ford | lawyer, U.S. congressman, vice president under Nixon | writer |
| James Earl Carter, Jr. | peanut farmer, governor of Georgia | writer, humanitarian, Nobel-prize winning statesman |
| Ronald Wilson Reagan | movie actor, corporate spokesman, governor of California | writer |
| George Herbert Walker Bush | oil executive, U.S. congressman, U.S. ambassador to the UN, Director of CIA, vice president under Reagan | private citizen; teamed with President Clinton to form tsunami and Hurricane Katrina aid funds |
| William Jefferson Clinton | lawyer, governor of Arkansas | writer, independent ambassador; teamed with President G.H.W. Bush to form tsunami and Hurricane Katrina aid funds |
| George Walker Bush | oil executive, sport team owner, governor of Texas | public speaker; written a book about his life entitled Decision Points |
| Barack Hussein Obama, Jr. | community organizer, civil rights lawyer, constitutional law professor, Illinois state senator, U.S. senator | — |
I noticed a good many ex-presidents were writers and had outdoor activities. We know George W took up art.
You see, I wrote all that just so I could show you some of my digital art in process. I try to learn to do digital art as I learn to write. Then I must learn to put it all together into this blog. Oh my, sure hope you can put up with me during my learning.
First I create a story in my mind, then I compose a picture to support the story, then I paint that picture. After scanning the Neiman Marcus Christmas catalog, I got several story ideas in my mind. Here are two compositions I created – I still have to throw these compositions away and learn to digitally paint them from memory. The story comes later.
Directly from Neiman Marcus catalog
Never shop alone – I know one gets quality products at Neiman Marcus – but I also know it takes dollars – so I thought of this – I will study it later and then attempt to paint it with a PhotoShop digital paintbrush
I had to make this one – I love cows and working with them – every fairground where I showed my cows had a cow plop board – you lead your cow up and down the path while spectators bet on which number the cow would plop on – so I saw the iPhone in her hand and I wondered if young farm boys today may be leading their cows while the spectators were betting with their iPhone?
Oh my, as you swing through life be happy and kind – you can see on TV how other great people did it but in the end you must do it your way! That is my answer to my lead-off question.
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