I have decided to take a break from posting this blog for a while. I don’t feel like I have anything new to add to what I’ve already written many times, i.e., Trump and his acolytes are a huge, ongoing danger to our democracy! I feel like I keep repeating myself so I think it’s time to take a little breather.
Before I temporarily ride off into the sunset, however, I do have one final, non-Trump related thought to provide some food for thought. It’s been all over the news the last few days that Aaron Rodgers, star quarterback of the Green Bay Packers, tested positive for COVID. This was particularly news worthy after it came to light that he had essentially mislead (or lied) to people when he said he was ‘immunized’ when, in fact, he had not gotten one of the approved vaccines for COVID.
Colin Kaepernick’s career was ruined after he had the audacity to take a knee during the National Anthem to protest against social injustice. Let me remind you, regardless of your view on this, Kaepernick had the right to do this. Just like the First Amendment protects the rights of people to burn the flag, Kaepernick had the absolute right to do what he did. He broke no law and endangered no other people. He was simply exercising his First Amendment rights. You don’t have to agree with what he did, but he clearly had the right to do it.
What will happen to Aaron Rodgers? He will likely get fined but that will be it. His career will continue to flourish. And yet, his dishonesty endangered people around him not to mention that people of his stature and with his platform could make a huge positive impact on getting people vaccinated if he were to use that voice. Instead, the anti-vax crowd and Conservative media will no doubt jump to Rodgers defense under the guise of him simply exercising his rights.
Colin Kaepernick, a black man, was drummed out of the NFL for exercising his right, which endangered no one. Aaron Rodgers, a white man, will likely get a slap on the wrist for exercising his right, which endangered the lives of countless others. Think about it.
In addition to thinking my writing has become a bit stale, the holiday season is coming up and I will be busy. I will be back in New York for a week during Thanksgiving and then my daughter, Jordan, and her mom will be out here for a couple of weeks for Christmas.
In hopes that COVID can be kept somewhat at bay next year I’m filling up my calendar with more adventures and those will hopefully give me something new to write about. Or maybe, when I have a fresh brain after the first of the year, I’ll begin posting again. We’ll see.
I bought new skis and intend to spend some time this winter at Bridger Bowl, the local ski resort, and maybe even venture down to Big Sky once or twice. The plan is to keep the knees healthy and myself out of the ER so we’ll see how that works out.
I just booked a snowmobile afternoon when Jordan is out here and hope to do a snowmobile trip into Yellowstone some time after the first of the year. That has been on the bucket list for a while now so I figured there is no time like the present.
I am in the throes of rebooking my trip to Portugal which I am planning to take in April/May. And when I return to New York from that excursion, it will be time for Jordan’s year-late graduation ceremony from NYU. It was cancelled last year due to COVID but they are holding it this year in Yankee Stadium so that should be fun. It will probably be the only time in my life I will make it to Yankee Stadium.
I am hoping to take another motorcycle trip next summer but the destination has yet to be determined. I had a lot of fun last time so I think I might try it again. Maybe I’ll get brave enough to head down to SoCal. We’ll see.
And, I have already signed up for a bicycle trip around the Big Island of Hawaii next October. It’s another self-contained trip, i.e., we carry all of our gear and we camp, but it’s only 10 days so I’m going to go for it. How bad can it be to camp on beaches in Hawaii (unless of course there is tsunami and then all bets are off!)? The daily mileage isn’t too onerous but there will be a lot of climbing so it will provide an incentive to get my ass in better shape.
It’s shaping up to be an interesting and fun year. I’ll re-engage at some point but only when I feel like I have something new to add or an adventure to report on. In the meantime, I’m toying with spending my time at the keyboard writing something a bit more creative. I did write one book a couple of years ago that was solely for my daughter, and although it was a challenging endeavor to write the 150 pages, I did enjoy it. I’m thinking it might be time to try again, albeit in a different vein.
I hope everyone has a great holiday season and I’ll be back down the road. Stay safe and don’t let the crazies get you down.