Ordering Pizza

Los Angeles, California

And then... I took a hiatus. At the end of 2020, I made an executive decision regarding my blog. I decided that I would no longer write about political issues. For those of us who have struggled to breathe over the past four years, we are hanging onto a slim reed of hope that the country will recoup from that madness. Clutching that reed, I decided to step away from the madness. January 6th cemented my resolve. There are many other things that I can write about. After all, my blog started out as a writing practice which evolved into a human interest and food blog. Not sure where I am on the human interest front, and I stopped including recipes many years ago. Now, I've decided that I need to breathe here, and I couldn't do it while ranting about (him).

My friends, Todd and Christopher, dropped off a lovely book for me on Christmas Day (or maybe it was Christmas Eve, I mean, honestly who can differentiate days anymore?). The book, Garner's Quotations, with its eclectic collection of quotes from the New York Times book critic, kept me company through the end of the year and beyond. They must have somehow known that I adore quotes. I love quotes so much that I collect them on the Notes app of my phone. And I regret that while I was listing all the meals that I prepared through the pandemic year, I could also have collected every quote I read during the year, writing them into some sweet little journal. There would be a lot of Voltaire, in case you're interested. But, here is a contemporary quote. I have no idea who said this (if I had to guess, I would say I might have read it in The New Yorker), but this is how I copied it onto my phone: "We should have been very wary about this idea" of taking human sociality -- "incredibly powerful and shaped by a million years of evolution" -- and allowing 22 year-olds in California to reinvent it. Amen.

And, from the British actor, David Mitchell: Internet has made it easier to order pizza and for the truth to die.

I never ordered pizza, nor any other take-out, not once during the year. But I watched the truth continue to die. And, finally, I just thought, I can't do this anymore. Joel and I were starting to argue about politics. AND WE'RE ON THE SAME SIDE! After President Biden was elected, I let out a very loud existential sigh. And then... things didn't actually get immediately better. I know. I really was that optimistic, and that set me up for a crash. So, I subsequently made the decision to step back. And then came January 6th. And, as a result of that, I took the month of February off to regroup. And I began a practice of meditation which is currently serving me much better than CNN.

So, the long and the short of it is, if you are looking for politics here going forward, you are probably not going to find very much of it, if at all. At least not overtly stated. Not that I won't rant now and again. It's in my Scorpio nature. Other than rants, look for some memories, observations and life experiences, maybe humor (at least I think I'm funny). And hopefully more joy as we move along. Or as Smokey Robinson sang: More love and more joy, Than age or time can ever destroy. Now, that's a great quote. One that is worthy of being written down. Happy March! And I thank you for reading my blog.