I’ve always enjoyed writing once forcing myself to sit down and actually do it. The second half of that sentence has always been the stumbling block, but there have been periods in my life where I’ve been able to pull it off.

Ten or so years ago some friends and I ran a rather political website that aimed to shake up and introduce some change to a political party. There was success in that effort, and we had a heck of a lot of fun along the way for a couple of years. Since then, I’ve started and stopped a personal blog twice, stopping each time due to completely self-imposed censorship. For good or ill, my livelihood over the past 20 years or so has been in an industry where there’s a hypersensitivity about corporate reputation. My opinions are oftentimes divergent from their viewpoints, especially as we’ve travelled down the path of “wokeness”.

But now I no longer care, as I’ve scheduled my retirement for the end of this year. That, combined with a belief that if more of us don’t speak our minds, the day will quickly arrive when we cannot. This has already happened to many people. Preventing it from becoming the societal norm is up to all of us. Each of us must voice what we believe.

So onwards towards retirement. There aren’t any concrete plans, only general ideas of how I’ll occupy the time:

Growing things: Those of you who know me are probably aware of my gardening addiction. I’ve no idea how a kid from suburbia got so hooked on it. I never had anything to do with gardening until around 2001 when I moved into Casco, Maine. The land there was exceptional, and I decided to give it a shot. I’ve had large vegetable gardens ever since and hope to keep at it as long as I’m able. I’m sure posts about the grows will end up here.

Travel- Road Trips: My wife and I have gone on some wonderful road trips, sometimes with one or both sons, other times just us. The US Southwest, Southeast and a great trip through Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin are some in the past few years. Ireland was a road trip as well. We did not drive in Italy, which was probably a smart decision. But aside from photographs, I never thought to capture the trips in words. That changed with our most recent trip down along the Blue Ridge Parkway and over to OBX, and there’s an account of that here on the website. I plan to chronicle more of these trips.

Hiking, Flyfishing & Outdoorsy Stuff: These are activities that have stayed with me since boyhood, though there have been dry periods here and there. What better way to spend time than walking up hills and then back down, along with catching fish you won’t eat? I’m hopeful that there will be many more years where I’m able to keep playing in the woods.

Lastly, I guarantee I’ll indulge in the inevitable and inescapable commentary. Nothing but my views and thoughts about events and the culture we find ourselves navigating. We are all entitled to speak our mind, and I’ll use this space to do that as the spirit moves me. 

Thanks for stopping by!