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The life of Dave Swanson
The Life of Dave Swanson
On the day of his retirement party, Dave Swanson was surrounded by his friends and family. Everyone was happy for Dave, he was so successful and nice to everyone. But as Dave looked around the crowded room, he felt sadness and disappointed. At the age of 57 Dave was able to retire, most people dream of retiring at that age, but Dave knew he had nothing without his work. He lived to work, and the thought of waking up tomorrow with nothing to do scared the living out of him. He became depressed, and by the end of the party Dave just wanted to go home.
Sitting in his favorite chair, Dave reflected on his life. “How did I get to this point?” Dave asked himself. He never had to worry about money again, and yet he felt as if he was filled with emptiness. “Have I had any real fun in my life?”. He was realizing that all he did in his life was work, and that he wasted 57 years of it. As Dave sat upset with how his life ended up his wife came in the room.
“You ok?” She said.
“Ya, I’m just thinking.”
“About what?”
“Well what I’m going to do now.”
Mrs. Swanson sat down in the chair with Dave and said, “Well we will have to find something for you to do.”
That night Dave didn’t sleep much. He pondered his mind on what he wanted to do with the time he had left in his life. In the morning Dave asked his wife “What do you want to do before you can’t do it?”
“Well I always wanted to travel.” She responded.
“Then pack your things were going.”
“We can’t just leave.”
“Sure we can, the kids are in college, we have the money. Why not?” Stated Dave.
“Well I don’t know where to go.” Answered his wife.
“Give me two hours.” Said Dave.
Dave ran to his computer and started to research, where to travel. He took notes and pictures of routes and places. Once he was done he found his wife in the dining room. “Ok, here’s what we are going to do. We are going to fly to Europe and drive where ever we want.”
“What?” Asked his wife “I don’t think so.” “How long would that even take.”
“As long as we want it to.” Responded Dave, “That’s the beauty of it.”
“So when are we leaving?” Asked his wife.
“Tomorrow.”
“Well, then we need to pack.”
The rest of the day the Swansons ran around there house packing things they thought they would need.
The next day the Swansons headed to the airport. Their car was packed full of baggage. They checked at least 5 bags, before they headed to their gate. Their flight was to Lisbon Portugal. The Swansons had never been on a plane for more than 2 hours, and this flight was well over Ten. Mrs. Swanson was terribly nervous.
“What happens if something goes wrong?”
“It’s all going to work out, don’t worry.” Answered Dave.
As soon as they got onto the plane Mrs. Swanson started watching a movie, to try and distract herself. By the time they landed, she was asleep leaning on Dave. They then proceeded to baggage claim where they collected all of their oversized suitcases.
“Alright honey, we need a car.” Dave said with excitement. They rented a SUV from the car rental right outside the airport.
“What do we do now?” Asked Mrs. Swanson
“Well, we are going find something to do. Are you Hungry?” Said Dave.
“Yes.” Answered Mrs. Swanson.
They found a restaurant right on the Tagus Sea. “Oh my God” This is amazing!” Said Mrs. Swanson. Dave didn’t respond he just stared out into the Sea, smiling, looking at all the ships and boats go by. Their food was like nothing they had had before. It was so fresh, and there were all types of fish in their stews. “What are we going to do after this?” Asked Mrs. Swanson.
“How about we do a little sightseeing.” said Dave.
So they left the little restaurant and drove all around Lisbon. They took a fairy that went around the Tagus Sea. They even went shopping for souvenirs at local shops. After 4 days in the city and 4 nights in a hotel, Dave announced that “today we are driving out into the country.” So they packed their SUV up and left the city. They drove north following the Tagus River for 6 days, stopping at anything they wanted to see. But Dave noticed that his wife was becoming board of the farms and hills of Portugal, so he asked her “Would you like to go to Spain?” Her eyes lit up with excitement
“Yes I would!” She said.
And that’s what they did. When they arrived in Madrid and stayed a couple of days enjoying all of the stores, restaurants, and the lively nightlife. They visited historic monuments, and old architecture buildings. The Swansons were falling in love with their new hobbie of sightseeing.
After Spain they drove through France, slowly making their way to Paris. When they finally did get to Paris they spent a good two weeks in the city. That’s when they got a phone call from one of their sons.
“Hey how are you?” Said Dave.
“I’m good, but, um, when are you coming back?” Asked his son.
“What do you mean?” Asked Dave.
“You’ve been gone for months.”
That’s when Dave realized how long they’ve been in Europe for.
“I don’t know when we are coming back, I’ll talk to your mother.” Answered Dave.
That night while sitting in a restaurant Dave asked his wife “How much longer do you want to travel for?”
“I don’t know. Right now I don’t even want to go back home.” Answered his wife.
Then Dave had an idea, “How about we just buy a SUV and return the rental. That way we can just drive. I’m not ready to go back eather, and when we are we can sell the car and fly home.”
Mrs. Swanson loved the idea.
The next day they bought a SUV, and started to drive to Switzerland. They continued to explore Europe and then to Asia for the rest of their life. They would call their sons weekly, and visit them on Holidays. They never went back to their old house or their old life.
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This piece was made in a creative writing class at Dexter High School. It is a realistic fiction story.