Merry Christmas to all! As a contributor thank you all for the kind wishes of a Merry Christmas (it was - I got 2 bottles of whiskey, a book on bourbon, some honey roasted macadamia nuts, a gift card for a massage and a flying lesson) that you left on on BD's card.
But the real gifts are those I've seen here - the caring and love which I believe are natural gifts of our audience. Despite claims by some in our nation that our 'system encourages' greed, hatred, selfishness and a host of other issues, I mainly see kindness, love and charity from all of you. It may not disprove the claims of those who want to undermine our system and way of life - but I know all of us will continue to speak out for truth and fight for what is right and what is ours.
I'd like to personally thank Bird Dog for inviting me to start writing years ago. My first "post" was on Sept 22, 2011 - actually it was an essay that Bird Dog posted on one of my favorite topics, Economics. So this will be my 10th year writing for Maggie's. I'd also like to thank Dr. Mercury, who has come and gone a few times over the years, and I hope he is well - out there somewhere. He encouraged me to write after I'd posted some comments to a few of his posts, gave me writing advice, and made the intro to Bird Dog, for which I am eternally grateful.
Without Maggie's, I wonder if Mrs. Bulldog and I would be doing as much hiking as we are now. That all stemmed from our Urban Hikes - sadly missed in 2020 - which I have come to look forward to every year. I love meeting our readers and sharing time with them, getting to know them. Hope we meet more this year (hopefully we can begin hike planning soon).
What I like most is that our readers are inquisitive, interesting, and independent. We don't always agree on everything, and that's OK. Who wants to be the same as everyone else?
I'll share an email I sent to a large number of former co-workers who I respect and will miss going into the new year. I think it's a nice mix of realism and optimism. Hopefully you will share these thoughts, too. Mrs. Bulldog and I wish you only glad tidings:
Whether you celebrate Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Christmas, Boxing Day, Festivus or nothing at all, it is the holiday season and I hope you have an enjoyable time with your friends or, more likely given the times, your family...more to the point, your nuclear family. It's been a strange and wild year in many respects but the prospects for the new year are always good. We entered 2020 with bright eyes and bushy tails and soon found the tails singed and eyes blinded a bit, but we've worked our way through it all and it's time to latch on to new cliches for 2021.
No lights at the end of a tunnel, no dawning of a new day. Just optimism that we can leave 2020 behind and take the best parts of it forward with us.
Have a great holiday season. All the best.
