This is a personal blog, so don’t look here for answers to solving problems like the pandemic, economic chaos, structural racism or preposterous leadership in the USA (and other nations). No matter who you are, 2020 is a….oh, well, choose your own descriptor, we all know what it is.

I am lucky, and wish to acknowledge that right up front. So many (so so many) people are suffering right now – some are sick with covid-19, some have lost their jobs, some are harmed in more ways than can be discussed. Yet – somehow – I won the lottery. It might be the genetic lottery, as I was born white, privileged and without worries about where my next meals would come from. I had two loving parents and went to college. I did make my own way and performed well during my career in the IT industry, but most people would perform adequately given the on-ramp I had. It’s important to acknowledge this. It’s white privilege and it’s a combination of luck, talent and hard work (i give myself a little bit of credit here). So after 38 years of reasonable achievement in the world of commercial business, I find myself out of a job – we sold our company and I needed to decide what to do next…or nothing. I decide to take my time, focusing on my non-profit activities (primarily Junior Achievement, a great org). Then along comes the pandemic.

It changed the world for sure and so many people are suffering. Yet, for me it has been a gift. There, I have admitted it. I am financially secure, have a home on an island in Maine and the most fantastic family I could hope for. We raised four kids – they are all out of college and on to their next chapters, so I didn’t have to worry about home schooling and other popular anxiety-inducing quests. We left our comfortable home in Ct and drove straight to Maine, where ‘social distancing’ is a way of life any way. “Hey Ron, how’s the social distancing going?” “Well….I thought I saw someone the other day, but it was off in the distance, so ayyuh, not sure, ayyuh.”

I had all four of my kids here with my wife and me for various extended periods during the spring and summer of 2020, and it was delightful. One was anxious over a wedding cancelled. Another anxious over having to quarantine when returning to London where she work. A third anxious about starting medical school in the fall. The fourth anxious about having to cut short his teaching assignment in South Korea when the schools closed, having to fly home to USA (is he really safer here??) and find a job up on the island. Yeah they all had worries – minor ones in the overall scheme of worries in today’s world, but worries. Not me. I got to just enjoy being with them, having dinner with them, working on the property, hiking with the dogs, going on kayaking trips. I am sooo selfish. This is the best pandemic ever.

Every blogger has a first blog. This is mine. There’s nothing special about it other than the fact that it’s mine. I am not a celebrity and don’t anticipate attracting much viewership. Who knows if my family will even find this (unless I send it to them and insist the offer supportive comments). Why blog at all? I guess I am a bit bored and searching for my next ‘thing’ to get excited about. After 38 years of work in the IT industry (IBM, Xerox, CSC, small companies, companies that got sold), I embarked on an ‘encore career’ (doesn’t that sound gentler than ‘retired’?). I spend most of my time on non-profit activities, which I can bore you with soon, and I also spend time with myself, and my family. Now I am trying to determine if that’s enough for me. Maybe it is – maybe I deserve this time and freedom. I read, I hike, I kayak up in Maine, I spend time with my wife and kids – more time than ever before. Maybe that’s enough. Yet there’s still a slight nag that it’s not. I rationalize a bit – this is 2020 where the world is all fucked up, so why create any ambition to do more until the smoke clears a bit? That has worked for me so far.