I’m convinced that everyone needs a hobby.

Every person, young or old, needs that thing, that activity, which they love to do, to make their life worthwhile.

That thing they are passionate about. That thing they would love to do every day, if they could.

I think you live longer, and are a whole lot happier, if you have found that thing.

That hobby, for lack of a better word.

Some of my retired friends don’t have much for a hobby. I don’t think watching TV all day and night qualifies as a hobby. Or drinking beer, for that matter.

However, others love to golf and do a lot of it. Some have become extremely passionate about pickleball. Others like to hunt and fish, and spend a great deal of their time pursuing those activities.

Some folks love to do crafts, like wood working projects, and make beautiful furniture. Others like to sew, and knit and quilt. I have met some people who do those things, and I am always amazed at their passion for it and the wonderful results of their hard work.

Bruce Ankeny, for instance, has a passion for wood carving. He spends a lot of time in his shop at his home carving and creating beautiful and even magical creations.

Then there is Loren Larson, of Elmore, who was featured in last week’s Register‘s Senior Section. Larson has spent thousands of hours restoring old player pianos. At the age of 90, he is slowing down from that hobby, but his eyes still light up when he flips the switch on one of those great old musical instruments he refurbished.

For him, all that hard work was actually totally enjoyable.

The fun part of my job has always been to do a story about someone and that thing they do because they love to do it. Over the years I have enjoyed listening to folks tell me all about that hobby they really love to work on. You can always tell they are passionate about it.

As opposed to a few of my friends, I might have the opposite problem of having too many hobbies. I love to go camping, a lot, and canoeing and kayaking and hiking and, well, you get the idea. I like to golf, I just don’t do as much of it as I once did. I love to read, and write, for that matter, and take pictures (of course, that is what I do for a job, so maybe it does not count as a hobby). I enjoy making wine from time to time, creating landscape projects and traveling. There are other things I enjoy too numerous to list.

But there is that one thing that I really love and always have. One hobby that I get passionate about.

You would never guess it in a hundred years.

I really like model railroading.

I know, I know. You are surprised I like to play with trains. Well, model railroading is more about creating a model train little world than it is just playing with trains.

I got hooked on it when I was a youngster in California, and I was about 12 or 13 years old. A teacher of mine had a model train layout that filled half of his two-car garage.

I was in awe. And hooked.

I think I am now on my fifth model railroad layout. Yep, it is secretly set up in my basement in Blue Earth. I enjoy going down and working on it from time to time, especially in the winter. My very understanding wife has let me always fill a portion of our basement with trains over the last 49 years of our marriage.

In full disclosure, I have not always worked on the model railroads regularly. I have often taken a sometimes lengthy hiatus from it, when life got busy with work, covering meetings and sports, raising three kids and a thousand other things.

But I always did a little bit, either planning or building a model structure or something to do with the trains.

My two sons helped me a bit when they were young, and I made up a small four by four foot train layout for them to play with, while I was working on the larger one.

The pandemic has been beneficial in one respect. It gave me some time to get back to working on the railroad, all the live-long day.

Because I am still hooked, after all these years.

Try as I might, I can’t shake it. I know it is not for everyone, and it is a little nerdy (OK, maybe a lot nerdy), but I simply love to plan it, build it and run it. However, I feel a little like Sheldon Cooper of the Big Bang Theory, I admit.

But now that I have confessed that I have this addiction, I feel much better.

I hope you have that one thing you get passionate about.

Everybody needs a hobby. And, Model Railroader magazine (yes I have been a long-time subscriber) calls model railroading “The World’s Greatest Hobby.” That might be a bit of an overstatement on their part.

But, whatever your hobby is, I hope you find time to always enjoy it.