The front office staff, in my pre retirement apartment, loved me. For my 60th birthday, they let everyone eat cake! At work, employees “could” receive full retirement benefits, once their age and years of service added up to seventy five! I was sixty and had worked there for fifteen years. Bye Felicia!

My final day at work was on February 28th, 2017. Three weeks later, I was attending Peace Corps pre service training, in Armenia. This was my second time volunteering with the Peace Corps. I taught high school English, in Kenya, 1986/88. I did the same in Armenia.

During the summer, my secondary project was volunteering at our local Armenian Red Cross Society soup kitchen. I worked alongside two young women, from the UK, volunteering over the summer. Together, we created an English language club for local children.

I wanted to serve in Ethiopia ever since LiveAid (1985). The first cohorts of Peace Corps volunteers served from 1962 to 1977. The program reopened from 1995–1999. The final period was 2007-2020. I arrived in 2019 and was evacuated nine months later. In March 2020, Peace Corps evacuated volunteers worldwide, due to the pandemic. In Ethiopia, the Tigray War (2020–2022) began that fall. Peace Corps finally closed the Ethiopia post in 2025.

After evacuation, I flew to Honolulu, for the mandatory Peace Corps quarantine period. I stayed with an old Peace Corps Kenya friend. When the USA didn’t reopen, in June, I headed to the lower 48. I pulled my application to serve in Jamaica with Peace Corps Response. The start date kept moving, as the pandemic spread. A Peace Corps Ethiopia friend told me about being accepted for AmeriCorps, (often described as the “domestic Peace Corps”) in Alaska. I followed her lead.

I was assigned to the REACH Homeschool Program, operated by the Sitka School District. I worked a ten-month contract and always took off during June and July. This helped me avoid both the summer tourist season and the higher prices for rent. During the school year, I rented a room in the Historic Stevenson Hall. The dorm is used in June and July for the Sitka Fine Arts Camp. At the end of my first year, I headed to Cali for my birthday.

Once my AmeriCorps service ended, I decided to spend my birthday at a co-working hostel in Puerto Escondido. After traveling around and visiting friends, I flew to Mexico City and spent the night in a Pod Hotel at the airport. The following morning, I flew to my birthday destination. I, of course, treated myself to private room. Once back in the US, I traveled around, while waiting to reach my full social security age. Then, I flew to Guam.

Before my next birthday, I had traveled to Guam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan, The Philippines, South Korea, Israel, Georgia, Romania and Moldova. Then, while visiting my old Peace Corps site in Armenia, I decided to walk the Camino de Santiago for my 67th birthday. It took me forty days to walk the 500 miles. I still cannot believe that I did it.

On my next birthday, I was back in the USA, for my annual medical exams. I had gotten myself a little bit off schedule, by walking the Camino on my birthday. Truth be told, I’m still not back on schedule. After traveling around all seven countries in Central America, solo, I signed up for an Alaskan cruise. I’ve now taken fourteen, over the past two years. It’s a great way budget food and accommodations. It’s also a great way to celebrate your birthday.

Last year, I was in Las Vegas for my birthday. The first time I did that was in 1974. I took a Greyhound bus, from Detroit to Sin City. I turned 18 years old as the bus was pulling into the downtown terminal. I hailed a cab and told the driver to take me to the Holiday Inn on the Strip. He asked how old I was. I said 18. He stopped the meter and warned me to not go back downtown until I was getting back on the bus and going home. After arriving at my hotel, he said, “Good luck, Kid!” He never charged me for the ride.

My 70th birthday was on the Norwegian Prima. My cabin attendant decorated my room. I also received a card, to present to my waiter at dinner. At the end of the meal, I received a very large piece of cake. I discreetly stuffed it into my pocket. I didn’t grow up with birthday cakes or unwrapping presents. I can’t remember ever having people over for a birthday party. The only birthday cake I remember having was Batman themed. I was eight. Long story … but Kenneth Brown had a Beatles-themed birthday cake and I might have gone on about it … for days … or longer.

Imagine my surprise, when my Peace Corps host family, in Armenia, woke me up, at midnight, on my birthday. There were gifts to open and a cake with a large sparkler candle. Each sibling smeared some icing on my face, while wishing me a happy birthday. And, … although that didn’t make up for Kenneth Brown’s birthday cake … it came damn close! XOXO—GGT