Today, December
22 2021, is the tenth anniversary of my first blog post.
In that time, I've
written seventy nine posts, this is the eightieth, and received hundreds of
comments and over 57,000 people have read what I've written! (Admittedly, my
first thought has always been, "What is wrong with all of those
people?" Because I don't have that many friends. Perhaps they're bots. Oh
well.)
Averaging eight posts
per year, or one every six weeks, is surprising; I've always felt as though I
wasn't posting that often and I suppose it's been helped by several years when
I turned very ambitious and cranked out content every few weeks. Most of those
received an abundance of comments and views, too, so perhaps regularity
increases quality - at least in my writing. (The current regularity is not
changing any time soon; I'm still employed full-time and find it hard to make
the time.)
I've even written, or
started, another dozen or so posts that I ended up trashing and/or never
finishing. Why? They were either unkind, uninteresting, no longer important (as
fast as the news cycle is, this should come as no surprise) or I simply
couldn't tie the ends together enough to make a sensible post. I suspect some
of you are thinking, "That's at least half of the stuff he
published!" The important thing about this is that most of them were unkind
and I went back a day or so later and looked at the with fresh eyes and decided
that the chance of hurting someone was too great.
I have a rule that I
never shave or send an email when I'm angry. Probably a good idea to add
"create a blog post" to that list, as well.
So, what's different
from ten years ago?
We've gone from a
slightly divided country that had elected its first president of color to
electing an individual of questionable morals and values who made multiple
stupid decisions in the role that have lead to much further divisiveness to
electing a former VP (who was almost the vicitm of an insurrection on January
6th, 2021 begun by TFG, just before the inauguration) who is working very hard
to put the pieces back together while being blamed for everything his
predecssor did wrong. So, we're even more divided.
There are many
investigations going on about that insurrection, over 170 people have taken
plea deals and been incarcerated but the people at the top - many of whom are
Congressmen and Senators - are acting as if nothing happened. It was televised,
for goodness sake! I'm not optimistic that people will pay for this but I'm hopeful; I especially hope it isn't too late.
A pandemic struck the
world about two years ago and, despite creating the most effective vaccines
ever made, we're still in the middle of it - facing another rising wave as I
type this despite having three of the most effective vaccines ever created. In this
country, it's due to the fact that there is a strong anti-vaccine cult, started
by TFG's followers and TV pundits, who refuse to get it. (This despite nearly
all of the leaders got it!) That means that almost 40% of our population is
unvaccinated and that gives this virus the chance to morph into something new
and more virulent and, potentially, more deadly. “Because I’m an American and I
have my rights! You can’t force me to do something intelligent that helps
everyone!”
In addition, the
poorer countries of the world haven’t been able to get a decent vaccination
program going and each of them becomes another Petri dish for the virus.
What else?
My bride and I moved
from out in the country to a city house about four years ago. I love it! We
walk everywhere and the lifestyle is so much to my liking that I really don’t
like driving out to the mall. The only downside is that cycling is more
difficult for me as country roads (my favorite ride) or the Capital Trail
almost require driving to them. I’m figuring it out this year, in order to keep
my sanity.
My kids have all graduated
from various institutions and are gainfully employed. More importantly, I’m proud
of every one of them and the adults they’ve become. They’re far more together
than I was at their respective ages!
I began collecting
bourbon about five years ago; about the time TFG got into office. (Coincidence?
I think not!) While my blood pressure has dropped in that time, my collection
has blossomed and mixology has become one of my hobbies.
I still play golf but
not as often as I’d like. I still play tennis, also not as often as I’d like. I
guess that’s all driven by my march to retirement which is just over the
horizon by several years. I’m looking forward to having time to do exactly what
I want to do, when I want to do it. Sounds like nirvana to me!
Maybe I’ll find time
to write more blogposts, too!
Meanwhile, that so
much for reading all of my raves and rants. While I write them for me, it means
something that others care to read them!
Here’s to the next 10
years!
