David Vowell:  

In 1972 I met a girl who worked as a medical transcriptionist. I didn't even know what that was. The more I learned about her work the more interested I became. By 1974 I had started a medical transcription company. In 1999 I sold the company and retired. Sometimes life just happens. What are the odds I could've planned that life? My wife, Bobbie, (not the girl I met in '72) and I had often talked of traveling. Now we had the time and spent 2000 doing just that. When we finally tired of traveling we started thinking of where we wanted to live. We agreed on Florida. One night in 2001 I was watching the golf channel and saw an AD for The Villages, a retirement community in central Florida. Their AD presented all the standard amenities, with one different and exciting option - buyers are able to participate in the home design. However, their biggest hook, for me at least, was "play golf free for the rest of your life." While that might not get everyone's attention (including Bobbie's), I'm a golfer with lots of free time. They have a stay-and-play plan (my words) for prospective buyers. After taking advantage twice I was sold. Unfortunately, it's located some distance from polite society, sixty miles from the closest city, Orlando, and Bobbie was simply not interested. However, in an effort to change her mind, over the following few months I displayed my best behavior, and used my most convincing logic. In the end, I prevailed, with the proviso that if after one year she was not happy, we would move. Finally, near the end of 2002 we signed ...Expand for more