Renewal

Captured at Sunken Gardens, Florida, November 2022.

November is as good a time as any for a renewal. Normally we associate springtime with renewal; flowers are in bloom, the number of people enjoying the great outdoors increases dramatically, and the myth that there is cleaning to do abounds.

It was long past time to retire whatever remnants of previous versions of my websites remain; while vintage Port has matured since my last blog entry most of the content hasn't. Though I haven’t actively blogged in a few years, you can dispel any thought that I took a hiatus from writing. I have written hundreds of pages of management documents, technical artifacts, and training manuals - all excellent reading and publish-worthy for professional colleagues without the light-heart enthusiasm that I strive for in my blog entries.

I also published not one, but two books! I’ve written a few short stories, numerous poems, and journaled, which you will be able to read excerpts from in the coming months.

So here goes, a new look, new content, and new entries chronicling my journey through life, my thoughts, and opinions – and of course, no website bearing my name would be complete without photographs and recipes. I dropped the business-related entries two website versions ago, and I hope you are pleased to know that I never write about politics.

What do I write about? Good news, good times, love, joy, happiness, and beauty. I write as a creative outlet and because I find it must more enjoyable than keeping a diary or journal. There is a purpose to a blog. Someone may enjoy reading what I write whereas journals just collect dust (and you probably hope nobody ever reads yours). I do not write about anything controversial, and while I express ideas, philosophies, and thought-provoking comparisons, I staunchly believe that everyone should Ask before they give an opinion; opinions are not gifts!

My life has changed significantly in recent years. I now have a “permanent” residence in Tierra Verde, Florida (a small island town between St. Petersburg and St. Petersburg Beach. I share my life and a home with the most wonderful woman I have ever met. I haven’t turned a television on in almost two years, and if “it” is negative or toxic, “it” has no place in my life.

Let’s live by the rule that If you don’t have something nice to say, say nothing.

I admit that I do recycle. I’ve written some entries that I consider “timeless with a periodic update”. A cursory review of the three hundred or so entries of the past twenty years proved that I have been correct more times than incorrect. If I think there is some value in something I wrote about before, which includes admitting when I was wrong, I will.

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again. I write when “life happens”. When sh!t happens. When anything happens. When I have something good to say about anything. When I think I can make the world a better place, bring a smile, or induce a laugh. When I have something to share. And when I want someone to know what I am up to.

And I don’t take anything, including you, my reader, for granted. If you’ve read this far, thank you, I really appreciate you.