It was great to see old people being so vital and enthusiastic. They had a consistent optimism and a zest for life. Many of them spent their entire lives walking, and they haven't stopped walking just because they've retired.
There are folks cruising around on motorcycles and bicycles, swimming, playing shuffleboard, and lying out in the sun. It's a bit like a college campus in that way. They reverted back to college in other ways too—people gossiped about whom was with who, and their main concern was to have as much fun as they could. At first I thought, Wow! This place is kind of weird. But the more I got into it, the more I realized what a fun place it was and what a good time people were having.
Nalcrest completely defied the stereotype of the elderly being unable to do much. In the end I thought, Man, I could almost imagine retiring here.
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The mosquitoes came out in droves in the early morning and late evening, when the light was best for shooting. This made taking pictures a nightmare. I didn't have mosquito repellent, so I just gave blood. That was all I could do—either get bitten or not shoot. And not shooting wasn't an option.
Of course, no one else in town suffered because, being retired, they didn't have any agenda or schedule. They could just stay in. I was one of the few people around who was working.
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I met a guy named Rich "Downtown" Brown who wanted a dog badly, but he couldn't have one because dogs aren't allowed in Nalcrest. Three dogs had bitten him during his career, and once he actually had to kill a dog with a phone book. But despite that he still loved dogs, and when he moved to Nalcrest he was lonely without one. So he bought a dog lawn ornament. It was a plastic beagle he named Digger because it looked as if it was digging for a bone. (Actually, it didn't have a head.) To Rich, Digger is more than just a lawn ornament. He'd say things like, "Old Digger, he doesn't listen too well. I keep telling him to quit digging but he won't stop." [See a picture of Rich and Digger on pages 118-19 in the magazine.]
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