Oklahoma, Where The Wind Comes Sweeping Down the Plains.

What a grand time! Visiting good friends, presenting the book and taking a trip down memory lane!

Susan and I braved the 50+ mile per hour winds, just like the Oklahoma natives we are, and experienced the warmth and hospitality of the great people in our old home state.

Presenting to the legendary Acorn Book Club, formed before Oklahoma was even a state, was an honor and a privilege. The ladies were very kind and I enjoyed it very much.

A special thanks to Martha Roth for hosting a reception for us in her home, and to the folks who came to help us celebrate my book.

And while I am passing out thank you's, Barnes & Noble at 6100 N. May Avenue in Oklahoma City and Hastings Books in Enid both did a great job for us at our signings. Thank you to them and the wonderful folks who came and spent some time with us.

A great, great time.

Makes me want to write another book.

Susan and Tom are coming to Oklahoma this week! Please Come By and Say Hello.

Hi Friends, Susan and I will be in Oklahoma City and Enid this week, and we are very excited to get the chance to see you. Please join us for some fun at one or more of our events, and bring some friends! We will try our best to bring rain. Tom Hays

See You Soon!

Baby Boomers Discovering Wine Country!

by Tom Hays

It’s not as if baby boomers aren’t acquainted with drinking, partying and having a good time. But as they are entering mid-life, many of them are discovering the joys of fine wine. Wine is an acquired taste, more valued for the nuances of its flavors than beer, which was the boomers’ choice to be chugged in great quantities at a frat party or ball game.

Now that they are older and somewhat settled, the mid-life baby boomers are discovering a variety of new tastes, including food and wine. That discovery has led many of them to want to learn more about the gracious lifestyles found in the prime wine growing regions of the world.

Wine tastings, tours, and visits to Wine Country are increasingly leading to the purchase of a second home or a retirement home in the vineyard regions. A simple lifestyle, based on fresh, locally grown foods prepared by excellent chefs, paired with delicious wines, and presented in a beautiful, small village or country atmosphere is a powerful magnet to the boomer who is entering the second half of his or her life. And for those who are not quite ready to move to Napa, Sonoma or Tuscany, many are ordering food, wine, cheese and other items from Wine Country over the internet to bring a bit of the charm, tastes and treasures to their own life.

Up-scale real estate continues to hold value in Napa Valley and other wine regions. Most have strict ordinances controlling conversion of vineyard land to housing development, keeping the idyllic rural atmosphere that people are seeking in their Wine Country dream home. That bodes well for the future housing prices in these desired areas, in spite of housing downturns in other parts of the country.

Those mid-life baby boomers who can are buying now. Those who can’t are buying as much of the lifestyle as they can, either on visits to Wine Country or over the internet from websites such as http://www.winecountry2go.com.

I Need How Much To Retire?

by Tom Hays

I've flunked "Retirement 101" four times. Maybe I just wasn't paying attention. Maybe I have a low boredom threshold. I have plenty of hobbies and I enjoy all of them. But maybe when I am trying "retirement" I have too much time to think about what "might" occur in my future instead of what "is" going on at the moment.

I think about my father, mother and all my other ancestors who lived to very ripe old ages. I can see the financial world changing every minute, the cost of living increasing and the cost of medical care spiraling onward and upward. With only a "comfortable" sized nest egg, it is enough to scare anyone to an early grave!

Point is, I'm just not sure how much is enough. In a perfect world, my wife and I would spend our last dollar on the day we passed on. But, no one can tell me when that will be, or what our cost of living will be between now and then. And, heaven forbid, one of those illnesses comes along later in life that creates huge medical expenses and long-term care costs.

I may have enough. Several times in the past I have thought I did. But each time I eventually realize I have no idea how much of a nest egg will be enough to sleep comfortably every night. (I'm sure Bill Gates does not have this problem.)

So, I go back to work, and I feel better physically and mentally. Besides, making money is fun. I enjoy the game!

Give me your thoughts.

Join us on a Platinum Pearls® Adventure - Discovery Retreat or Workshop!

Designed to both "get away from things" and "get into things", the workshops, adventures and retreats presented or recommended by Platinum Pearls® represent a wide range of topics, settings and experiences. For example, our "Discovery Weekend" is designed as two extremely laid-back days in a very small group, everyone learning, everyone teaching, personally accompanied by Tom Hays, the founder of Platinum Pearls®, where the important thing is fun, relaxation and expanded awareness of life's possibilities. Four sites have been selected for the coming year.

"Spirit of the Stones" in the Sedona, Arizona area and the Hopi Indian Reservation features small, four day group retreats that offer an intense setting for personal shifts. Available energies are magnified within the shared focus. You have opportunities for learning from each other's experiences, for integrating the experiences with your dreams, meditation insights and feelings that come up over the course of the four days. You are encouraged to develop awareness practices to carry back into the rest of your life.

"Painting Word Pictures" focuses on writing creatively. Strong sensory images make your writing or lyrics sparkle! Learn how to paint pictures with your words by tapping into an endless well of creative imagery. The purpose of this workshop is to help you find the wellspring of “sensory memory” inside you, to learn to turn it on at will, and to help you direct that flow of creative energy into stronger, more effective writing … writing filled with images that allow your words to say more, connect better emotionally with the readers or listeners. Whatever your writing goals, you will come away from this workshop with new tools to work with, a new way of approaching the creative process.

You are encouraged to browse each of the many featured workshops at http://www.platinumpearls.com/, find one that fits you, and then dive into the pool! The rest of your life just started. Make the best of it.