Lots of little things happening right now that make me want to believe that the 2020 shitshow is winding down a bit.

On the personal front, a tech company that I advise just won a large contract we’ve been working toward and hoping for since April. It’s great news for the 30+ people we’ve kept employed through the pandemic.

On the political front, Trump seems completely unable to stop his self-destruction act. And Biden seems wisely content to not distract him from that.

On the pandemic front, Russia has announced that they’ll release and distribute a COVID-19 vaccine in August. I count that as good news because it will ramp up the pressure to move faster on US-sponsored vaccines. While I have great respect for CDC and US health professionals’ guidelines for releasing safe and effective vaccines, if there were ever a time to be aggressive on the timelines it is now. A working vaccine frees up the economy by making it safe(r) for people to travel, work, play, etc. So good for Russia.

And finally, little Jessamine (pictured above) is enjoying his first family vacation, a socially-distanced visit to the shores of Lake Michigan.

It definitely helps to step back from the abyss that has swallowed most of 2020 and consider the good things in life still happening and possible. We’ll call it a good day – that’s one in a row.

Photo above is from our Malta trip, 2019, wherein our friend Tanya and some pelicans pose in the Maltese evening.

I just realized it’s been two years today since my last day in the office! July 27, 2018 was the last day I had to get up, get dressed up, commute an hour (if lucky), spend eight or nine hours managing people and technology in person (in meetings, mostly), then drive home through stressful traffic. Do some” homework” to follow up on the day’s events or get ready for the next day, and then do it all over again.

Two years. Twenty-four months. Seven hundred thirty one days (2020 is a leap year. As the worst year in modern history, of course it is.). Three point one percent of my entire life. So it’s been a while now that I think of it.

I don’t miss the traffic, the meetings, the deadlines and the endlessness of it all. The things I enjoyed – talking with interesting people, learning, reading and writing – I’ve found ways to continue on my own terms.

On July 28 2018, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Whatever I was thinking, I would have been very wrong. 2019 was pretty much what I expected. Some home improvement projects and LOTS of travel:

• KY (seven times!)
• Hawaii
• NOLA
• Borrego Springs
• Pebble Beach
• Big Bear Lake
• Alaska!
• Lake Hemet
• Oakmont PA golf
• Sicily
• Malta
• Guadaloupe Valle, MX

Wow. I’m tired just looking at that list. We did have some dog tragedies early in 2019 and I’m thankful to be many months away from those.

2020 of course, started out fine with some travel and then two successive shitshows. First was Jan-Feb where we moved my folks from independent living to an assisted living facility, and then in March COVID-19 said “hold my beer” and proceeded to rain down trouble like never seen before. And still doing it.

Retirement has been many things, but it hasn’t been dull. I can’t imagine going back to the office every day. I think I’ll take the remainder of 2020 and rest up so we can have a 2021 more like 2019, if you can follow that logic. We only have a pandemic and an election to get through, so we may very well make it. Fingers crossed…

You made it to 85 – who would’ve thought? The last of your siblings, the last branch of the family tree above me. Pretty amazing, but glad to have you still here and safe/sound in your new home.

The picture above is from Emily’s college graduation in 2008. The one below is much more contemporary, taken in early 2019. Dad has shrunk a bit.

I got some bad news a couple of days ago. I listened closely to comments at my writers’ group and got the feeling that I’m in trouble with my novel. I thought I was almost finished, but it turns out I’ll need to delete about 80 pages of false beginning and start again. I checked with Dave, the alpha writer of the group, and he confirmed what K had already told me. So it’s back to the drawing board.

Problem is I’m so goal-oriented, and this goal just keeps receding into the distance. I think I’m close and it scampers away. Maddening.

The COVID numbers game is pretty depressing this week. The US is exceptional once again, leading the world in new cases and deaths. Around 70K new cases and 1100 deaths every day. And just over 4M US official cases, which means about 40M US citizens have been infected. And that’s *still* only about 12% of the population, so you can see how much further this thing has to run. Without a vaccine we’re pretty much doomed to stay in COVID limbo until late 2021, maybe into 2022. There won’t be much of an economy to come back to by then.

But my blogger friend Robert over at Blue Heron found something that puts a better spin on things. Go pig, indeed! COVID lockdown can be very productive if we let it. I’m working on it.

Five years ago this week K and I were in Scotland, visiting our friend Annette in Glasgow and then attending The Open. Headline picture above is me and Annette’s then-boyfriend playing a round at the Kittocks course in St. Andrews. That was a rough round – very windy, hilly and I didn’t strike the ball well that day. Enjoyed it nonetheless. Picture below is our view from The Road Hole at St. Andrews Old Course.

And next I’m posing mid-round at Carnoustie (!), one of the world’s toughest courses. Great times.

On that trip, from Scotland we went to Kentucky to see family and have an 80th birthday celebration for my Dad. Picture below is from our gathering at Armco Park, eating the worst barbeque ever. Those were the days, only five short years ago.

And ten years ago this month Emily and her cousin Eric were in San Diego and we visited a lavender farm not far from the house. Beautiful spot.

One constant in my adult life is that I love to play golf. I’ve never been good at it, but I love it nonetheless. For some folks it’s a waste of time and money, but I say if you love an activity, do it. I get joy from being outside, with friends, and the pure feel of the occasional perfect strike of the ball.

Here are some of the great courses I’ve had the privilege to play. Having made the list for the first time, I’m kinda impressed. Some great memories here.

• Torrey Pines
• Pebble Beach
• Aviara
• Maderas CC
• Spanish Bay
• Poppy Hills
• Bajamar, MX
• Nairn (Scotland)
• Killin (9 hole course, Scotland)
• Carrbridge (9 hole course, Scotland)
• Oakmont CC
• Banff Springs CC
• Carnoustie (Scotland)
• Kiawah Island, Ocean Course
• St. Andrews, Kittocks Course (Scotland)
• Shadow Creek, Las Vegas
• Redlands Mesa, Grand Junction CO
• Tchefuncta CC, NOLA
• Rancho Santa Fe CC
• Del Mar CC
• Santa Luz CC
• Bandon Dunes, Old Macdonald
• Bandon Dunes, Pacific Dunes
• Bandon Dunes, Bandon Trails (pictured above, from the tee)
• Bandon Dunes, Bandon

Great courses still on the bucket list:

• St. Andrews, The Old Course (Scotland, doh!)
• Royal Dornoch (Scotland)
• Castle Stewart (Scotland)
• Pine Valley
• Erin Hills
• Valhalla
• Any seaside course in Ireland
• Too many others to list…

Like everything else, golf is getting a little tougher in my sixties. But it’s still a highlight of my week to get out there and compete.

 

New grandson Jessamine is flourishing at two months. He’s a 16 pound chunk.

If you miss travel, here’s a live webcam from Venice with views from all over that unique city. Gorgeous views, and not too crowded (no surprise there). I have great memories of our time in Venice.

140,000 US deaths attributed to COVID so far. And soooo many people still rant on about “you can’t make me wear a mask, I have rights…”. It’s sad. We really are living in an idiocracy.

I spent some time this week debating with folks on NextDoor/Fallbrook about mask wearing and politics. What really stood out was the extreme polarization and the personal attacks on those with different views. I finally gave up – I just don’t see any way to meet in the middle with folks who consider liberals “demons” and “un-American”. Or who think that Trump is our greatest President. The tribal sickness (fear and hatred of “the other”) runs very deep these days, and I have no idea how to change that. We’ve pretty much fractured America into two irreconcilable tribes.

I finally finished the new raised bed herb garden, pictured above. Turned out to be more of a project than I expected. Had to reinstall a new hose riser and connect to the irrigation system. I actually enjoy the PVC work, but it’s all below ground and now very tough on my knees. But now the fun part – go buy some herbs and stick them in the dirt.

There’s a whole lotta talk about having college sports this fall, but I just don’t see it happening. My bet is that there will be nothing to bet on for football or basketball season.

My weekly writers’ group is finally reconvening via Zoom next week. I think the big problem was that our ringleader/mentor Dave Putnam is not a fan of video conferencing. But he’s coming around. I’ll be grateful for some opportunity to learn again and share some work.

Well hell. Turns out that according to the government, most of us are worth more dead than alive. Go figure.

I love Scientific American, always have. I love understanding how things work and why. They just published a fascinating interactive bit on what we now know about SARS-CoV-2. Beautiful (scary) illustrations and clear explanations. And the complexity of the molecular and cellular-level interactions (adaptive warfare, really) is astonishing. It makes me wonder again about life itself – was it created, evolved or engineered? There’s so much complexity at every level.

 

 

I had a great birthday. Thanks so much to everyone who reached out to say hello and Happy Birthday – it means a lot.

We’re in the midst of a classic July heat wave for Socal. Daily temps above 90F and very little breeze to cool things down in the evenings. The only positive is that the pool is finally warm enough for me to venture in. K swims in it as early as April, in temperatures I would never consider. She’s tough; I like my warm water.

I’ve mostly recovered from the gloom and doom feelings of a week ago. Nothing’s changed other than my re-found ability to ignore the calamities and just think about a better future.

Emily has sent a lot of great pictures of the family and kids (example above). They’re very photogenic, wouldn’t you say?

I’m already starting to think about another trip(s) east in September or October. I’d like to:

• See the kids and other family again
• Play golf in NOLA with my buddy Jon at his annual member-guest tournament
• See the fall colors in eastern forests

The BIG question is drive or fly. I can imagine that enough might change/improve by then to fly. Would sure be a lot faster. Just daydreaming, FedX should start a new service where they actually ship a person to a destination. Sedate you, package you up in a virus-proof pod with filtered airflow for 4-5 hours and voila – you’re there. Could call it SleepShip™️. I might do it, but K will have nightmares even thinking about it.