Four years ago, I started this blog. Of course, the primary reason for deciding to write was the election of a malignant narcissist to our nation’s highest office. I didn’t like what I saw coming and I wanted a voice – undoubtedly an inconsequential voice, but a voice nonetheless. I’ve had that voice and I am grateful for having written these essays.

My opening sentence in my first posting was, “May you live in interesting times”. I didn’t realize that sentiment was my opening salvo until today when I re-read that essay. Boy, was I right the money on that one. That sentence is often referred to as an “old Chinese saying”, but it is not. It’s a curse and, after the last 4 years, it’s easy to see why.

I had promised not to focus solely on politics, but to also cover the environment, climate change, and other topics that struck my fancy. For the most part, over these 99 essays, that’s what I’ve done. I had no idea, of course, that 3 years into the process, a public health tsunami of a highly infectious coronavirus would overwhelm our entire world and that providing easy-to-understand, basic facts about this complicated topic would become the entire purpose of my writings.

Over the years, I covered such various topics as growing up in my hometown of Hazleton, my fractured relationship with the Catholic Church, recent advances in fitness and weight loss science and my personal practices in those areas, people I’ve admired, problems with bottled water, income disparity, and myriad other issues. Mostly, though, I focused on Trump, Covid, and climate change.

Trump – For the most part, I was right about this guy. I knew he would create problems the like of which our country had never seen. I knew Trump was a malignant narcissist and I wrote about how horrendous electing a narcissist as President would be for the US. As many of us did, I predicted that Trump would ridicule, bash, and bludgeon anyone who disagreed with or opposed him, but I had no idea just how wide a swath that destruction would involve. I actually thought the Senate would act to limit his worst impulses as that body was designed to do by the Founding Fathers (in fact I wrote an entire essay on that subject). Boy, did I get that wrong, but I was right about Trump. I saw no humanity in him and I feared that more than anything.

What else, did I not foresee? Well, I never predicted that this country would separate babies and toddlers from their mothers and place each in separate cages; never saw the wholesale dismantling of environmental and public health regulations designed to protect American citizens and workers; never imagined a constant obliteration of facts and truth emanating from our President and the White House with no obvious consequence; totally missed the possibility that every member of the Republican Party (at every level of government) and the entire cabinet would resort to obsequiousness and bootlicking in kowtowing to a bloated no-nothing; and, most importantly, never, in my wildest imagination, would have foreseen that the results of a fairly one-sided election would be crassly used by the President of the United States to push this Republic to the precipice of revolution in order to run a graft of his own supporters to the tune of $250 million.

Covid – Last February, in my first essay on the novel coronavirus, I set out my reasons for writing about the growing epidemic and my bonafides. Briefly, I wrote that I was an educated and CDC trained epidemiologist and as the pandemic grew I would attempt to translate and explain terms, concepts, and interventions to help people understand this complicated subject and, most importantly, to protect themselves, their families, and their communities. After re-reading my postings, I’ve accomplished those objectives. I am proud of my Covid writings. They’ve been scientifically-based, clear, and public health oriented. Unfortunately, my projections, based partly on the virus, partly on my understanding of human nature, and partly on politics, have been mostly on the money. I wish I had been wrong more often.

Climate Change – I believe that the changing climate is the most important issue facing our world. I wanted to write about climate change regularly on this site, so that at least I could keep my readers (whatever number of readers there might be) updated on the latest science and advancements. Covid sort of blew that out of the water for me, but I will come back to climate change, as I think we all will with a change in the Senate and the Administration.

So, what now? Well, I am 4 years older. I hope I’ve changed over those 4 years and that I’m wiser and more tolerant of people. I hope I am kinder and more generous in my opinions. I hope I pay more attention to the people around me and that I am more giving of my time and attention. I aim for these things, but fall short so often. Most importantly, for your sakes, I hope I am a better writer.

Meanwhile, over the last 2 days, Trump fomented an insurrection by his mindless thugs against our Republic; Covid set US records in number of cases, deaths, and hospitalizations; and 2020 tied the record for the hottest year on record.

“May you live in interesting times.”

Onward and upward.

Stay safe. Stay informed. Wear the mask. Get the shot.