Category: life

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life work

Happy Veterans Day

Today is Wednesday November 11, 2026. Stop and think what this day means.

It has been a little over four months since I last checked in and wrote anything on these pages. It is odd having a day off as a holiday in the middle of what is, on my schedule, a short work week. Yes I am still working. Not because I need to but because I probably have nothing better to do.

Some people may say I have the perfect job. I know I think so. When not glued to a computer in a messy office, I manage myself, I attend lots of meetings and on a few occasions tell management what I think. I find my work challenging and mentally stimulating. I have a boss but it’s not clear that he knows what I do. I mentor people. I am usually right when most people have bad ideas or execute work poorly. I work hard and people solicit my opinions. Sometimes I think I work harder than most. And most days, I get stuff done and have some fun in the process.

But the question remains. How much longer? Went to visit my daughter (and her horse Roman) at college. I asked her when I should retire. I gave her some possible dates and she asked why retire if it keeps me going strong. What is it that I want to do now that I cannot do now? Good point. She summed it up well because in approximately 18 months, I’ll turn 67. I could retire then and draw my Social Security. This of course assumes that the Democrats don’t fuck it up. I have paid into it yearly since age 16. Think I deserve it. I think that the government should keep its hands off the money and invest it in the market. Stocks, bonds, gold, whatever. I think that we would probably have more money than we as a nation would know what to do with. Our problems are not going away and this election will only make them far worse.

Several weeks ago, I went to visit a former workmate who has been retired for over a year. Sometimes I wish that I retired when he did, but I still put up the good fight. Got to visit Seattle for a week, visit an old friend from undergraduate school (it had been almost 30 years since I last saw her) and to see RUSH on the 50-something tour. It was my tenth time since the Hemispheres tour of 1978-1979 in Pittsburgh with friends from high schoool. It was great to see my former morning coffee cabelmate. The work cabel was discussed in these pages previously. Looks like he is doing well. Good food, some good wine, conversation. A relaxing time to renew old ties.

As for RUSH, another great show. The sound and lights were amazing…do I go see them at the Sphere in May? This was the second show that I managed to pick up as they are out on the road. The first was a week’s vacation that I took to New York City. Took in the shower at Madison Square Garden. Aside from great food, great wine/beer/bourbon, seeing Alex and Geddy in a different format after an 11-year break was fantastic. Splurged and was sitting nine rows from the stage. Sound was great, music was diverse and they can still play as they gracefully age into their mid-70s. Managed to take in the sites while in NYC. 

When I last visited in 1986, it was about $12 to go to the top of the Empire State Building. This summer, it was over $100. Walked a lot through the city, which was remarkably clean. Managed to see the library and a few other famous spots. Was focusing on early American history. Thus, I ate at Fraunces Tavern, Keen’s Steakhouse, toured Wall Street, Times Square, Freedom Hall, Trinity Church and other places. 


Now I begin to prepare for winter. Currently have two busted automobiles, a gas furnace in the house in need of repairs, the house needs a new roof and new appliances. Thanksgiving will soon be here, and then Christmas. Guess I need to work a while longer.

Enjoy. Until we chat again.

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life

Rambling Reflections: New Year’s Resolutions for 2026

It an early Friday morning, January 2, 2026. I have enjoyed the time away from work but need to get back into the routine of my daily life. I let my schedule slip and now I need to return to the real world. Another year is behind me, and a new one has begun. Does early to bed, early to rise, make a man healthy, wealthy and wise?

Let’s start with the obvious. I made some New Year’s resolutions for 2026. Let’s hope that they turn out better. As I look at last year’s results, I realize that 2025 was indeed a very bad year. Without going into the details, I need to spend 2026 recovering and returning to the old ways. Trying to reach out has brought pain at great cost. So, I will ignore the past but remember the lessons. Either I am stupid, lonely or just stopped thinking. Probably all of the above. Thus, I see less crypto, less talking to strangers and more road trips. Throw in some camping and fishing and I might have a better outcome.

Despite what the angry liberals suggest, 2025 rocked for America. It did not rock for me. For me, it is time to return to rugged individualism and advance myself through hard work and realize that the outside world is an evil place. It’s not even a nice place to visit. If the world is such an evil place, shall I plan for tomorrow like a prepper? Thus, I see more reading. Throw in some drawing and painting. Staying closer to home and family.

Over the next few months, I get to wade into the world of Medicare. As this is the year I turn 65, I find myself still working. Not because I need to. Rather, it is because I want to. I still haven’t refined that retirement plan just yet. As it is, I see that I need to consolidate, declutter and work around the house. Several projects planned. I hope that I can get them done before the summer. Invest in and spend my time on what I know.

I need to consolidate my investments and plan for the next act in my life. While the stock market has had another great year, I myself did not do so well in many external investments. Need to regroup and adjust accordingly. Write off my losses and continue to pay down debt. Return to being frugal and invest for the future. That said, I expect much volatility in the market in 2026. Much of that will be generated as the world shifts from the metaverse to the AI verse. If you thought that the metaverse was hyped and bad, the AI verse will be worse. For me, I just want my MTV.

As for this site, I need to write more frequently but be less verbose. Reflecting on this post, it has nothing on the subjects that are my typical tags. Nothing about my son or daughter. Both are doing well and home from school a tad longer, thank you. Nothing about horses. Ruby is retired and enjoying life with the other horses on the plains of Southeaster Colorado. Roman is on winter break from college, also in Colorado. Jewel is lying here on the sofa as I write this post. Trump is still our President. Contrary to what the fake news writes or speaks, his policies are turning the country around and putting it on a better path. I still despise him as a person. I don’t vote based on the personality of the person. Rather, I vote for what will make life better for our country. With that said, I cannot believe that America will turn 250 this year. Perhaps bicentennial coins might be a wise investment? As it is, I cannot believe that they retired the Lincoln cent!

Well, I have rambled on now for over two hours and several cups of coffee. Not really sure what I have said, but the words look good on the computer. They express optimism going into this new year. As a new year is upon us, and I hope that it is better than the last. With that, here’s hoping that Pearl Jam tours in 2026.

Categories
life

My Transition: Embracing Change Amidst Life’s Busy Schedule

It has been a few months since my last post. My wish remains to post more often. This remains the goal as I get ready to renew my website and WordPress account. It gets to be problematic given all of the commitments on my time. Between work and kids, there are times where there are not enough hours during the weekday. By the weekend, I am so mentally tired. As the weather turns to spring, summer, and fall, my time commitments shift to outdoor adventures.

Needless to say, I have found this to be an interesting time in my life. Much has transpired since that last post. I have been very busy, both professionally and personally. I continue to do the same job. I have been doing my current job before I started writing TheMcKeeSpot. It began as an idea after a morning coffee cabal with a great colleague. He retired several years ago.

Over the past few years, many of my friends and colleagues have retired. Many return and “double dip” and work part-time as a contractor. As I contemplate my own retirement, I stay focused on retiring and not planning to be a contractor. Yet, economic changes are affecting my life. Personal changes in my life are also influencing my decision. These changes convince me that this represents a good “middle of the road” approach as I ease into retirement. I will probably follow in their footsteps when I do retire.

Recently, I got a promotion of sorts. This was after 15 years at the same level and job title. Obviously, a promotion should be a time to rejoice. Unfortunately, the HR processes at Los Alamos are broken. It was more of a way to reclassify people into the correct job title. It was not a real promotion. Many of the work processes are, in my opinion, broken.

I continue to do the same job that I have been doing for over a decade. However, there has been much change. Changes have been in terms of the people that I worked with and admired, and how work is performed. About the people, many who have worked on the project for years, retired. I am happy for them. None of the change has improved the work load, the work product, or made processes more efficient. Regarding the work environment, I have coined the phrase “bureaucratic work free safety zone” to characterize the entire place. It takes twice the number of people and twice as long to move ahead with even the simplest of activities.

Given all of this, my thoughts turn towards loosing myself in the wish to balance work and life. It has been a long time coming. Yet, I stay lost in the busy schedule of work. I often ignore family, friends, and self-care. Of late, I have vowed to change much of that focus as I contemplate retirement.

I have been planning much to do for myself over the next several months. This week, as I write this, I am in Phoenix addressing a medical issue. I have talked about this issue over the past few years. Enough procrastination has lapsed and now I am working the issue. In two weeks I have planned work travel, followed by another Pearl Jam concert. This will be followed with hiking and camping back east for a couple of weeks. I will be with a friend who has been great at uplifting me lately. This story remains a work in progress. Finally, June will follow with some fishing with great people in Alaska.

I plan to end the summer by traveling with the kids. The kids are preparing for school in August. A trip away will be a great way to end the summer. I also plan to decide on the next chapter of my life at this time.

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life

A Picturesque Sunrise in New Mexico: My Hurkle-Durkle Morning

After a fantastic dinner and an overall great evening last night, I went to bed about usual time. It was met with sleeping in later than my schedule allows. There is a 200-year-old term I learned on the internet called hurkle-durkle. It is a Scottish term meaning to lounge in bed long after it’s time to get up. Well, I certainly did the hurkle-durkle this morning.

I doubted that it was a real expression. However, sure enough, the internet was able to educate me on the subject. You can read about it here:

https://www.scotsman.com/news/scotland/hurkle-durkle-scots-word-meaning-origin-4491313

That said, I hurkle-durkled until 6:30 this morning. Absent coffee, I hurried up, got dressed, and drove to the stables in order to catch sunrise on my iPhone. I’ll save the why for another time. It was a beautiful morning. The stables were quiet, except for some horses, a few chickens crackling and some sheep. The air was crisp but had a very pleasant smell about it, surprising for an area with many horses.

According to my weather app, sunrise was at 7:04 am this morning. The fact that it was February 2nd, Groundhog’s Day, was not lost on me. Sunrise, I expected to see my shadow. Here is the first picture when I got to the riding arena at about 6:55 am this morning.

Just beginning to creep up and over the Sangre de Cristo mountains. Let me continue with its progression…in silence.

And there you have it. The last picture was around 7:12 am. Another beautiful sunrise in New Mexico. Not much orange in the colors of the clouds. But it was the start to another great day.

In my mind, I was reminded of the music from 2001: A Space Odyssey, Also sprach Zarathustra. You can close your eyes and here the opening notes. They almost parallel the rising sun. However, it looks like the sunrise was doing its own abbreviated form of the hurkle-durkle.

In some ways, a sunrise is like a new beginning. It is kinda how I have been feeling for the past several weeks. A new beginning for me. A new sunrise as I continue to travel through my life’s journey. More to come. Stay tuned.

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life the week in review

Early January 2025. What will the new year bring?

This marked a return to normalcy after the winter break. My daughter departed Saturday for the spring semester of her sophomore in college. Due the of breakfast on weekends we decided to visit Viola’s on Friday morning for a father-daughter. She left Roman in Colorado for the winter break. Remarkably, she managed to ride other horses over the break. She took a few lessons and earned a few dollars by taking care of other horses at the stables. I believe she would be happy if she could make a career out of that type of work.

My son returned to school earlier in the week and has already managed a week of high school classes. Now that his sister has left, he must hope for good weather in the afternoon. He cannot take the bus home. Therefore, he has to walk. Alternatively, he hopes that one of his parents can pick him up. His junior year is progressing better, but he is just doing the minimum to get through. For, breaks consist of playing computer games and spending a significant amount of time watching various videos on YouTube. He should have figured out a niche and become some type of YouTube influencer. I suppose there is still time.

I worry and wonder about their futures. I am concerned about how they will secure employment and what fields or careers they will pursue. I also wonder how they will take care of themselves, given the current state of this country. Will they have the opportunity to continue to enjoy the activities they do now in the future? Have I adequately prepared them for life after I am no longer around? It is evident that their lives today are vastly different from mine at their age.

A quiet dinner at an Olive Garden, sometime in 2017.

I can only hope and pray that I have prepared them for tomorrow.

As for me, I have returned to work, and I am thinking very hard as to when I will retire. I need to think about myself. I must consider my next 30+ years I believe I have left on this planet.

Today is a very cold Sunday in Los Alamos. I write this post on a very quiet day while contemplating taking the dog for a walk. The recent news is about the fires in southern California. Having twice evacuated over the past thirty years because of forest fires, I understand how those people feel. If you have the time to pack, you might wonder what will happen. Will you return to a pile of ashes? Fortunately for me, that was not the case. Sadly, there is much destruction in California over the past week.

I previously wrote about the fires in Los Alamos in May 2022. I also wrote about them in April 2022 and in May 2020. This post isn’t a further reflection of these types of disasters or the empathy that they trigger. Droughts, poor forest management and other contributors add to the lessons learned from these events. So far this winter, we have had very little snow in Northern New Mexico. What kind of weather will the spring, summer, and fall bring? Will our once a decade fire cycle be different?

Equally unmentioned until now was the return of the McRib after Thanksgiving. But it was a tasty reminder of several previous posts on this blog. But I didn’t mention it until now, nor did I critique the culinary experience.

The result the fires will be higher homeowners insurance rates in the coming year. I have already experienced increases in my automobile insurance. Given my current stage in life, I have added more coverage through an umbrella policy. This helps protect my family.

With the arrival of spring, I must downsize as part of my retirement strategy. Although I no plans to sell the house, I do need to focus on the backyard. My retirement planning also includes more hiking, more camping, and more travel. And perhaps, this will be the year I finally finish reading Atlas Shrugged!

Until next time.

Categories
Family life

Another end of the year is upon us

I can’t believe that 2024 will soon be over and 2025 will be upon us. I will soon be another year older. I will be 64. I am entering what I often refer to as my third act on this planet. Sadly, I am still working. But, I am pretty sure that this will be my last. As I no longer enjoy it, I am finding getting up every day a difficult task. The reasons that I worked so hard are gone. The enjoyment I once felt is just no longer there.

Wow! Thanksgiving came and went. And in typical fashion, I spent the day doing chemistry, creating yet another tasty meal. One thing that I have

learned over the years is that cooking might be easier if I have the proper tools. Must have been the wine that got me through the day. So for Christmas, I splurged and bought myself all new pots and pans for cooking. That certainly came in handy when I cooked the Christmas day meal. Over the years, I have found that I certainly let food dictate elements

of my life. Certainly a possibility for when I retire is to combine food with travel, besides other themes.

I also found myself more in the Christmas spirit this year. I do not know why! I decorated both inside and outside the house compared to other

years. Pretty sure that I was not dreaming of a White Christmas. After all, how many people celebrate Christmas with a display that includes an inflatable Grinch. Added a few new nutcrackers to the collection and the kids got me a new ornament for the tree.

I sit here this Sunday morning. I am enjoying my first cup of coffee. The mug was made by my daughter. I am also savoring a Nonna Randazzo’s King Cake from New Orleans. This delicious treat is a Christmas gift from my sister. Son got me a coffee roaster and beans that I will soon have to

try. And I have always wondered if one can grow coffee beans in New Mexico? An entrepreneurial twist to retirement? If anything, I certainly need to get to Mardi Gras sometime.

Having wrapped up a weeks vacation over Christmas. Getting ready for a second weeks vacation over New Years. Not much planned with the kids off from school and home. Roman stayed behind in Colorado for daughter’s Christmas break from college. The weather has been great. It is getting into the upper 40’s during the day. There is no sight of snow on the horizon. I have found myself sleeping in until 6am instead of my normal 3am start of the day. Soon the sun will be up, expected to reach the low 50’s today. Will take Jewel out for her morning walk shortly. As the year ends, trust all is well with everyone. Soon 2025 will be upon us. Let’s hope that it is a better year than the last.

Categories
life

Exploring California’s Ohana Festival and New Orleans Adventures

Welcome to early October. It has been a few weeks since the last post. This is the time of year when I often plan my vacation. Nothing extravagant like some of my friends, who venture off for weeks to Scotland and Ireland. That said, I have placed such trips on my bucket list for the future—when I retire.

More often than not, my vacations are typically long weekend getaways. They are solo trips to a music festival, usually in a place that I have never visited. This year was no exception. I decided in early April to attend the Ohana Festival in California.

I would sum up the Ohana Festival as great weather, great music, and great food. It was a fantastic weekend to sleep in, charge the batteries before returning to work. The food was delicious and aside from all of the walking and drinking, I managed to put on 10 pounds. And while the location, on a Pacific beach was spectacular, the water was too cold to enjoy the surf.

Of course, given the cell phone age, I managed to take pictures to share of the adventure.

The music lineup included Dogstar, The Breeders, The MOSS, and Turnpike Troubadours, along with DEVO, Sting, and Alanis Morissette, among others. Pearl Jam was also featured. These were just a few of the acts from the three-day event. The two Pearl Jam concerts started off explosively but, in my opinion, ended as some of their least remarkable performances. I shouldn’t have been surprised; it was the conclusion, or nearly so, of the Dark Matter tour. They seemed to lack the vigor I had seen at an earlier show in Las Vegas.

I returned from California and spent a few days at work. There it was wrapping up the fiscal year and starting anew. Of late, work has become more of a negative distraction than the whole idea of accomplishing specific goals. That trend continues and certainly has pushed me towards making this my final year. My week at work involved less actual work and more preparation for retirement, along with planning for my upcoming trip.

It was another long weekend vacation. This time, with son in tow, we ventured off to New Orleans and my niece’s wedding. Daughter, unfortunately, could not attend due to college classes.

I figure that it was a complete wedding, New Orleans style. There was a jazz band. People enjoyed dancing and music in the streets. The celebration included a streetcar trip. The wedding took It was a black-tie event and thus the need to wear the tuxedo. For me, there were relaxing moments on the front porch. I enjoyed drinking a gin & tonic while reading a book. I also spent time pondering the future.

A visit to the Crescent City isn’t complete without exploring the National World War II Museum. My son found it engaging. The ‘broken world’ exhibit felt particularly relevant as we approach this election cycle. I can’t help but think that we may be facing some challenging times ahead. The sentiment remains unchanged regardless of the election results, unless a clear frontrunner appears with policies that align with my vision for the near future.

And to that end, I have already voted. Yes, I voted early and in person. Otherwise, this election cycle has been madness. I get between 50 to 100 phone calls, text messages, e-mails, and snail mail requests for donations every day. This happens daily. I cannot believe how much money the democrats have raised. I honestly believe that the amounts indicated some illegal shenanigans that need to be investigated. However, I wonder why we cannot raise those kinds of funds to ease homelessness. We could help those less fortunate or provide disaster relief.

Well, it is Sunday. I have been at it for a few hours. I have been to the grocery store. I have taken Jewel for a walk. I have been out for coffee. The rains from yesterday have subsided for the moment, but more in the forecast. There is snow in the mountains and autumn has clearly arrived.

Until next time, enjoy the pictures, have a great week and get out and vote. I am afraid that our Constitutional Republic may be hanging in the balance. Why would Warren Buffet sit for a photo on a toilet? He must be thinking that this is the direction of the economy.

Categories
life Uncategorized

A Return from the Unknown

When I logged in this morning, I was shocked to see that my last post was on October 15, 2023. There I said that there has been change in my life. But as I start typing this post, it has been about eight months since I last updated the world on my comings and goings.

It was the Rush drummer Neil Peart who said that “the more things change, the more they remain the same”. However, from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The More Things Change may refer to:

The internet cannot even provide a clear answer as I was able to find many articles on the phrase, whether it is in English, or in French. I still attribute my introduction to the phrase from the song “Circumstances” by Rush, since they sang the words in both English and French.

Today is early May. I have been up for awhile and went to the stables early to get ready for the return of Roman. After a semester at college with my daughter, he , and she, is coming home for the summer. I think the horse has been goof for my daughter to help her navigate the emotional ups and downs of college but we will see how she handled the coursework.

Son has about another month of high school. This year has been better with less absences, less bullying, but also less focus on the work. I am concerned as to what summer will bring for him. We shall see, but I hope that we can spend more time outdoors than in years past.

As for I, I continue to work but contemplate retirement multiple times a day. After all, it has been over 33 years, and I recently celebrated the 34th anniversary of turning 29 years old. That which was great about working at Los Alamos is no more. And it has been broken for a number of years. It has, in my opinion, become poorly managed in so many ways. It is not sustainable.

As summer comes, I see two planned outings in which I will cross paths with Pearl Jam. Vacation travel is planned as part of these outings and perhaps represent a view of my post retirement gig. Aside from some weekend hiking and car camping, working to rebuild the stables will be much of my effort.

Perhaps a few other trips are in the offing, as I see how the year will round itself out. And I see that we have an election in the fall. Our nation cannot stand another 4 weeks, let alone, another four years of Joe Biden. He and the rest of the democrats in government should be impeached, imprisoned and tried for treason against the constitution. The left are destroying our nation that so many have fought and died for, and that others continue to see as a better place.

However, I am not sure who I can vote for as the other side of the equation is not much better. And the other parties offer more of the old. Lock and load as the nation is falling apart. Looks like we will have another summer of lawlessness and protests that lack a proper moral direction.

Until next time, and lets hope that it isn’t as long as this time.

Categories
Family life

Is it May already?

I cannot believe that we have entered the month of May. Allergies are bothering me to the point where I need to take the usual drugs in order to get through the day. The first several months of this year have just flown on by. We have already passed Cinco De Mayo. I have had another birthday, 62, and find myself still working. March flew by like a lion. The weather is starting to improve, yet a couple of weeks ago we had snow. Soon it will be summer, and the kids will be out of school for the summer.

Tis a typical Sunday that I find myself up somewhat early. Having tea and breakfast. Laundry is done. The dog is fed. Need to take some items to the recycling bins (glass and cardboard boxes). Vacuum cleaner needs to be run; a general spring cleaning is necessary. Yard needs to be cleaned up, especially since Jewel uses it a lot. Virginia creeper runs amuck along the once fence. If I don’t thin it out, it grows across the canopy of trees and slowly kills them. My backyard is a mess that is in need of some revitalization. I think about it every year but never really get any backyard project started. Yet it is time to plant the tomatoes in the deck box.

Ditto with the projects at the stables. Some of the wood in the buildings needs to be replaced. The wind can blow quite excessively, causing damage. The fence needs replaced in areas; a good coat of paint would improve the aesthetics of the place. Alas, soon it will be time to cut the grass, bail hay for the horses, and in general, try to keep up with the chores.

Soon I will find myself at the high school graduation. I cannot believe my little girl is 18 and a senior. Seems like it was just yesterday when she was doing little girl things. Where did the time fly? Soon it will be off to college and then taking care of the horses while she is away. Son will have wrapped up a very difficult freshman year. What will we have him do this summer?

This summer, I have taken a vow of sorts to do things that I want to do. Camping and other weekend getaways. Get to the gun range and target practice. Hiking and yes, some fishing. I want to sit under a tree and read books, to go to fancy restaurants, waste hours in bookstores, drink wine and visit microbreweries. Long weekend trips to visit friends, museums, art galleries.

Some of the planning is coming together for summer concerts. Robert Plant and Alison Kraus in Taos, Bruce Spingsteen and The E Street Band, and perhaps even Pearl Jam.

Yet I need a new iPhone, put the car into the garage, what else?

Well it’s a nice day and so I might as well see what I can accomplish. Until next time.

Categories
life

The Return

Hello Everyone. It has been over six months since my last post. It wasn’t that I lost interest. It was due to the death of my computer. My desktop, and all of those files were rendered unretrievable because of a failure of the disc drive. All my pictures. All my tax returns. All my things in the electronic age were lost. My son and daughter lost years of games. Yes, I know better and should have had backup. Live and learn…or maybe it is fate telling me that it is necessary to start over. Let’s go with that!

Earlier this week I recovered from the problem. Partially. I bought myself an early Christmas present in that I got a new computer. I was excited when it arrived. Now I struggle because I need to figure out how to set it up with what I want. I hope that I can take the old hard drive somewhere, somehow, and recover the files, but we will save that for another time.

Much has transpired since last I commented on TheMcKeeSpot. Let’s spend a few minutes and get everyone up to speed. Can’t you see how excited Jewel is…

My last post was the latest update of the Cerro Pelado fire. It was pressing close to town, and we were in the early stages of preparation to evacuate. Well that never happened. The fire crews were able to stem the tide and the fire was soon contained and a return to normal happened. I actually traveled through the fire area near Jemez Springs a few weeks ago on the back road to Los Alamos. Many trees scarred and lands burned. A beautiful fall day in the mountains of Northern New Mexico.

Late June brought travel and the subsequent return to another sense of normalcy…travel. And so, I traveled for work. And so, I returned, then spent three weeks recovering from COVID. Yes, despite getting the original vaccine, its follow-up, and then a booster, I entered the ranks of over half of the country and got COVID. It was three days of pure hell, between the 103-degree fever and massive headache, followed by three weeks of testing positive, lethargic and brain fog. And then it was done, and I returned to normal.

During the whole time, my evening taste test of bourbon did not fail me. I could taste it every night. So, I did not lose my taste, or smell. As summer turns into fall and soon winter will be upon us, one has to wonder if the return of COVID, the flue, or something else will transcend life as I know it?

The summer months were spent between work, and the occasional visit with the kids. Daughter turned 18 in July and her brother 15 in September.

They are both in high school. Where did the time go? Daughter is looking for college possibilities and has already been accepted into a couple. And they only accepted her and not the horses. She is still riding, but not as much as in the past. Both Roman and Ruby are doing well. Son continues to play video games, gripe about schoolwork, and has limited extra curricula activities.

September also found me travelling again, both for work and a trip to Bourbon and Beyond. Now who could not enjoy four days of food, drink and music. I had a great time getting away from here.

Outside work, nothing to really to report. I am still working. Jewel and I spend quiet evenings after work, reading or whatever needs to get done, as illustrated in the photo above. Soon I will be wrapping up my 32nd year. I am ready for retirement but with the Biden economy in the toilet, my kid’s college funds have lost over half their value. As a country, we had an election which failed to result in a change since over 70%, myself included, felt that the country was heading in the wrong direction. Our country is in decline. Our world is gravitating closer to war. I am afraid for what tomorrow will bring.

Sadly, I believe that this generation will inherit a country, a world, that is not better off than the previous generation.

More to come.