The Olympics lasted 17 days and I managed to view about 15 minutes of it, nursing a glass of wine in a seafood restaurant in Panama City. It was women’s curling, Switzerland vs. China. I didn’t notice who won. Then my grilled grouper arrived. Like the curling, it was unremarkable.
See, this is why I don’t blog much any more: For some reason I’m finding it harder to savor my own opinions. Like the man said, opinions are like … well, everybody has one. My views — on the Olympics, on the latest Florida shooting, on the season finale of Downton Abbey — are as misguided as anyone else’s and just as futile. But it still takes me quite awhile to churn out 400-or-so words on any given topic. Since most posts sink immediately into the ether without a single ripple, I have begun to wonder again if it’s worth the effort.
No, this is not another “I will blog no more forever” post. I’ve done that before and it seems kind of petulant. I’m still here. This is just another “what the hell am I doing here?” post. And mostly I’m writing it to bury the ridiculous item about my dream involving Petula Clark. If I were to die tomorrow, I wouldn’t want that to be the epitaph.
This malaise: Is it a normal part of getting older? Could be. I have a birthday tomorrow and the number of this particular birthday seems laughably high. As a young newsman I remember reading accident or homicide stories involving guys my age and thinking, “Well, it’s not like he had a lot more to look forward to.” Now that thoughtless reaction is coming back to haunt me.
Anyway, enough navel gazing. Read any good books lately? I’ve been on quite the reading jag since the start of the year. My favorites so far:
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The Good Lord Bird
Saints of the Shadow Bible
The Light Between Oceans
The Orphan Master’s Son
We Live in Water
The Gods of Guilt
I also read, or attempted to read, a number of lesser novels. Which I won’t name just now. Another thing about getting older: I don’t stick with a book very long if it gives me any reason at all to quit.
Going postal
Times are tough? Here’s how you cope
Doing a marathon the easy way
The walkin’ man
Here’s a test comment from the author. One of the reasons I’m updating the look is because the comments stopped working under the old theme. Feel free to reply to this comment to see if it’s working or not.
Ha! i thought my browser had gone haywire when the page loaded!
Glad to see you back – was concerned you’d gone looking for Petula.
I loved The Light Between Oceans.
Yeah, it’s a lovely book, isn’t it? What memorable characters.
Snappy new blog duds! This post was great and made me chuckle for various reasons. Thank you for the reading list… I wish I could read them here: http://tinyhouseswoon.com/escape-cabin/#more-6556 I am somewhat fixated on the whole idea of that cabin.
Happy birthday Dave!
Thanks, Erin. Still getting used to the new look myself.
I’d definitely like one of those cabins — and a scenic place to set it on …
New look–new year! Happiest of birthdays, Dave…have a great day.
Sincerely, loyal-reader-no-matter-what-you-write-about-Deb.
Thank you! We’ll be going out for a birthday dinner tonight.
OK, three comments now! That’s a lot for this little corner of the Internet. Onward …
Happy Birthday, Dave. Add me to the loyal-reader-no-matter-what-you-write-about list.
Well, I can complain about the quantity of my readers, but never about the quality. Thank you.