Save your arguments, we’re calling 2019 the end of the decade.
I’ve been trying to write something profound and introspective about the last decade for a few months now, some way to tie all my experiences and thoughts together.
But they’re all just moments that come to me, and if there is some deeper meaning in the ones that stick with me, I’m not sure what it is.
I could force it, I suppose. But maybe it’s better to just share these moments and leave it to the reader to decide how they all come together.
The first flight I ever took happened this decade, a trip to Florida in December 2011. I had never wanted to fly – that whole pesky fear of heights thing – but it would be faster than driving.
Our takeoff on that first flight was delayed, by ice on the wings and then by some guy having a medical situation. Not good for a certain someone’s fear of flying. And with the delays, my wife and I had to sprint our way across Atlanta’s airport to make our connecting flight.
So by the end of 2011, I had been on four flights in my life. Thanks to my current job, and vacations in Europe and Hawaii, that number is up to 160. Not nearly as many as some people I know, of course, but considering where I was at the beginning of this decade, it’s got to be a little impressive?
At the beginning of this decade, I was working part-time at a newspaper half an hour or so away, just trying to make ends meet after being downsized from my previous job. It’s been a rough decade (or two) for the newspaper industry, but I managed to network my way into a pretty nice freelance gig, covering Indiana University basketball and football, for two separate newspapers for most of the first half of the decade. And I eventually got a full-time job at that newspaper, after leaving to go back to school.
Still, I’ve joined plenty of other talented journalists in leaving behind the daily grind of newspapers. The bylines don’t come nearly as often as they did when I was full-time newspaper reporter, but I still finished the decade with 2,383 bylined stories, give or take.
That’s a hell of a lot of writing.
That’s not nearly as much writing as Stephen King, of course. I’ll likely never be that proficient (or rich), but this decade did bring me a few moments related to my favorite author.
With the current job, I had the opportunity to go to Maine, and there was no way I wasn’t going to go to Bangor. My wife and I walked the downtown streets that served as inspiration for King’s Derry, and we went on a guided tour of other places around the city that made their way into his books. We also hung out outside his house; unfortunately, the Kings never showed up.
Stephen and his son, Owen, did show up, however, for a reading in St. Louis to coincide with the book they co-wrote, Sleeping Beauties. It was an incredible experience, made even greater when I ended up with one of the signed copies of the book.
A great weekend that came at a much-needed time.
About a month before that, I came out of the theater where I had just watched IT – coincidences abound, eh? – to a string of emails informing me that I was going to Florida in a few days to cover The American Legion’s relief efforts after Hurricane Irma.
Our base of operations, so to speak, was in Orlando, but we drove one day down to the Keys – at least as far into the Keys as we were allowed to go – and the next day up to Jacksonville. That’s a hell of a lot of miles, so I was understandably eager to enjoy my hotel room bed when the day was done.
Something woke me up, though, and I was greeted with emails and a voicemail from my wife: “We’re all OK.”
Why wouldn’t you be? My first thought was that the old tree in our front yard had finally decided to topple, smashing either our house or the neighbors or both. Turned out it wasn’t quite that bad, but still a mess: our washer hose had burst and flooded most of our house.
On the bright side, we’re on a slab so that helped. And we ended up getting new floors, a new furnace and new washer and dryer out of the deal. Plus, I got to leave Florida a couple days earlier than “planned.”
What’s that saying, something about life is what happens when you’re making other plans?
I’m pretty good at making plans, it’s the follow-through that doesn’t always happen. I bought my domain name in October 2010, but I’ve never kept up a regular blogging schedule. I’ve had ideas for novels for decades but never finished them.
But I have to recognize the things I have achieved. I found a way to make a living when I couldn’t find a full-time job. I ran three half-marathons this decade; impressive for an overweight former smoker. I got over my fear of flying and dealt with my fear of heights well enough to go to the top (well, almost the top) of the Eiffel Tower. I added a college degree.
I’m eager to see what the 20s bring. More so, I’m eager to see what I achieve, and what those I love achieve, in the next decade.