It's Been Awhile.....

Wow! I just realized that it has been almost 6 months since I wrote a Blog entry.  When I started this blog back in 2010, I did so as a catharsis of sorts…a release of all of those stories, ideas and opinions that kind of boggle my mind.  Besides, I have always enjoyed writing and haven’t yet found the subject nor the energy to write my Great American Novel.  So short blog entries continue to help satisfy my writing “jones” until I actually get around to writing that book!

In my first blog I wrote: “I am not sure if anybody is going to read my blog, and frankly I am not sure I really care...but perhaps it can serve as my own sounding board and maybe one day my grandchildren will enjoy reading it and get to know their grandfather better!”

Since that time I have written about politics, have reminisced about my childhood, eulogized my Dad, sorted out my observances of society and its successes and ills, reported on our travels, given my account of the founding of The Sports Authority (The REAL Story), celebrated my dogs life, and opined on many subjects.  But the most important things that happened over the last 5 years were the births of our 3 grandchildren…Elie, Zev and Mara.  

We have been fortunate to spend some quality time with all of them lately.  Mara visited for 10 days recently while Lisa was in Cuba and despite the stomach flu she brought with her, was so much fun we didn’t want to give her back.  And we were just in Baltimore for a week with Elie and Zev and had the opportunity to spend some quality time with them.  Time flies…Elie will be 5 in January and Zev will be 2 in September…in just a blink, they grow up.

So, I have been giving some thought about the subjects to Blog about.  Surely, with the Presidential elections already in full swing, I will be writing about politics.  The Republican Clown Car is filling up fast, so they will surely give me plenty of material to mock.  And The Democrats are doing everything they can to blow their chances, so I will have plenty to say about that over the next year.  And The Supreme Court will surely give me some great writing opportunities because they will likely make another ruling just as absurd as Citizens united!

I recently was called for jury duty on a high profile murder case.  After four and a half days I was finally disqualified for cause….I made it clear that I thought the “Stand Your Ground” law that the defense was going to put forth as their strategy is a bogus law and that I would not be able to apply it fairly.  Besides, the creep was obviously guilty (as the jury eventually found) and I had already made up my mind.  As a result, I could write about the futility of the jury selection process and offer some alternative ways, such as professional jurists, for jury selection.  But, that hardly fills an entire blog.

I could also write about the spectacle of faux celebrities such as The Kardashians or Bruce Jenner’s money grab.  I have no problem with Bruce being a transsexual and his desire to become a woman.  But it seems to me that if he wasn’t getting his own reality show and he wasn’t treating this as a three-ring circus then I could respect his decision a whole lot more!   And ESPN giving him the “Courage Award” instead of the young lady that fought through her terminal cancer to play in one college basketball game is almost laughable….if it weren’t so sad.  But I guess that as long as people continue to watch these things on TV and gawk at people like The Kardashians, the Real Housewives, Duck Dynasty or others that have no particular talent or entertainment value, then they will be forever pervasive in our “news” media.

Speaking of great writing, I just finished rereading To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee.  I think I read it as an assignment in High School…I know that I have seen the movie several times.  I reread it in preparation of the Author’s sequel that will be released in July.  I forgot how well written that book is and marveled at Ms. Lee’s prose as I fully visualized the small town that was described.  I am really looking forward to reading Go Set A Watchman.  Though the book has been characterized in media reports as a sequel to Lee's best-selling novel, Go Set a Watchman was written in the mid-1950s, before she wrote To Kill a Mockingbird, which was published in 1960.  A full book review just might make for a good blog!

This is my 44th Blog Entry - if you missed any and are interested, you can access them from the archive on the right side of the blog site.  Obviously, there are still a bunch of interesting subjects to write about…I won’t wait another 6 months for my next entry.  Stay tuned!

And The Journey Continues…….