A Drinkers Rumspringa

“The farther backward you can look, the farther forward you are likely to see.”
— Winston S. Churchill

I’m coming to you live from St. Louis, Missouri!  We arrived last night about 6:00, 7 hours of drive time yesterday; we listened to our audiobook, some Dave Matthews, we came and took PVHT for a walk.  We are in a nice neighborhood; it reminds me of some of the hoods in Indianapolis. Significant streets, nice sidewalks, you can walk forever.

Our Air B and B accommodations are excellent.  It’s in the basement of someone’s home; you could hear them last night; they sound like a fun family.  They got to bed about the same time as us, 9:00 or so.  We watched some movies and a show and ordered pizza; we have extra calories to burn since we are not drinking.

The place is filled with a queen and twin bed, a couch, an oversized chair, a nice flat screen t.v.  The kitchen is quaint, as is the dining room; it’s a great space, like yesterday; it has a hint of boho, fabrics, bamboo ceiling, incredible rugs, a nice little stop on our way home.  We drove 6 hours the first day, 7 hours yesterday; we expect about 4 to take us home.

We listened to some podcasts and our book yesterday; the airline issue is making the news, the information we listen to, I suspect that not all news channels carry the same report. So if you are a traditional news consumer, let me share with you some things they might not be telling you.  There was a walkout in Jacksonville on Sunday night; the air traffic controllers took a stand against the vaccination.  It seems my friends at Southwest are feeling the weight of their decision to mandate all their employees get the jab.

Supply chain issues will only worsen; Christmas will be one of the apples and oranges not of X Boxes and new iPhones, most of the goods are stuck on container ships on the east and west coast, and there is no one ready to load and unload the vessel.  There are ten million unfilled jobs as of the writing of these words; where did all the people go?  They are calling this the great resignation, but my word, how do these folks plan on eating, drinking, and providing for their families.

Oh well, when I look micro, things are pretty good.  I’ve got a beautiful wife, three amazing kids who all will be married in 60 days.  We have one grandchild rocking the world and another on their way.  We will be home for the holidays, grabbing time when we can.  We tell our family, work us in, and whenever you can visit, we will be here.  There is talk of my mother hosting Christmas this year; that might be nice.

We will get home, unpack, probably go to the grocery; our home has no food; we will cook tonight, watch some television and get another good night’s sleep. After that, we will acclimate to our new time zone and be back in Eastern Time by Thursday.  I’ve got some work to do this week; my next book is soon to be published, I need to prepare for that moment.

No book signings, no fanfare, just another book is dropping before the holidays so my friends and consumers can order for their family and friends to share the work of an old white guy.  It’s been done for about a year; I held off; I’ve got another 4 or 5 I could publish, but at this point, why?  All my work is readily available, but some like the feel and touch of an asset.

7:34 a.m., I feel rather remarkable; 12 days since my last drink, another 28 to go, I’ll drink on Halloween, not much, but I’ll use this time to reset my passion for the Devil’s nectar.  It’s an annual tradition similar to rumspringa, the Amish tradition of allowing their young men and women to leave and experience the English ways of life before departing or returning to the covenant.

I think about quitting drinking, I like the sober life, but different lives have something different to offer. So I guess I’ll keep drinking for the next few years and then let booze go as I did with my penchant for hot wheels as a kid.  Hot Wheels were excellent, but after a while, I lost interest.  It’s funny when you don’t drink; your drinking friends look at you a little funny, “how’s it going?”  it’s going well, actually lovely, my wife and I have a switch we can turn on and off when it comes to alcohol, right now it’s off, but we can flip it soon and get back to our consuming ways.

I’ll clean up the email this morning; we have an early checkout of 9:00, no problem, we can hit that time; although it’s a little early, we will arrive home mid-afternoon.  Our home will be clean; it’s been rented to others; the cleaning crew that manages our Air B and B home are outstanding. After that, we will set up our medical appointments; I’ll need to see my doctor, my dentist;  Aside from my testosterone doc, I have no medical providers in CO.

Well, that’s my travel blog for today; tomorrow, I suspect it will be a little less traveled and a little homier.  We got word that the bears showed up after we left yesterday.  Our Indiana guests who had never seen a bear were thrilled; we got some good video, they were playing, one stood up, I love nature. The benefits of mountain top life.

I hope these words find you in a good spot; I hope that you can see the light and that the darkness is in your rearview mirror.  Keep in mind the size of the windshield and rearview mirror; there is a reason one is much larger than the other; we are mean to look forward, not back, keep your eyes on the road, the future is bright, grab your shades!

“The farther backward you can look, the farther forward you are likely to see.”
— Winston S. Churchill