It's been awhile. And a lot has happened since my last visit.

First and foremost I need to express how sad it was to learn of Merlin's passing. Sia had reached out to me via email. (Thank you Sia)

He was certainly an incredible individual, a cut above. I was always amazed at his calm demeanor even in the face of the harshest most toxic attacks. I tried hard to learn from that example. But my nature, being what it is, pulled me the other way. I will miss him terribly.

In a nutshell, I retired in January of 2019. My wife and I had determined to move to central Virginia where her family members lived. My parents had passed. And my brothers and two daughters lived pretty far away. So we thought it would be nice to be close to her family. So here we are just north of Charlottesville, VA

This is an incredibly historic place steeped in Revolutionary War and the founding of our nation plus the Civil War. There is much to see and learn.

I have been spending my online time almost exclusively on Facebook. I had frequented Xitter (pronounced with an 'sh') until such time that it became a real cesspool. On Facebook I'm relentlessly political and in support of the Constitution & the Rule of Law. And I remain in staunch opposition to Trump and the unmerry MAGA movement. Because of my stance and constant refrains, I've lost family members and longtime friends there. But I've also garnered the attention and support of other like minded citizens who constantly speak out against this descent into dictatorship.

I have also become involved in local politics. I joined the Greene County Democrats and have worked as a poll worker for the past four years. One thing I learned almost immediately about that, Virginia elections are safe, fair, and secure. I've also attended several national protests. This included Kamala Harris' historic speech on the Ellipse. I was one of the 75,000 in attendance.

To be sure, we live in interesting times. The challenge before us is ours to meet.