Ten years? How can that be?

 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!