2020 kick start

So, it seems that I’ve kind of neglected Exit78—this blog—for a while.

I’ve been blogging here and there for quite a while.  Exit78 has 2,656 published posts.  Unfortunately, I’ve only published 7 this year.

There have been a lot of other distractions.

Casino—The casino issue in our county has been frustrating.  As of now, we are apparently getting a casino.  However, the Arkansas Racing Commission has selected a casino operator that most of us didn’t want.  Our preferred casino operator, Cherokee Nations Businesses, had an economic development agreement—a contract—with the county worth over 50 million dollars to the county, cities, and local organizations.  It also had a number of other commitments such as who would be hired, buying locally, support for local foundations, a generous minimum wage, and more. The operator that the Racing Commission has selected has promised nothing other a high-end casino and a huge hotel with a swimming pool—and no one under 21 will be allowed on the property, any of the property, including the hotel and any eateries that are included.

We have a local grassroots Facebook group with nearly 7,700 members.  I’ve spent a lot of time with the casino issues and have contributed a lot of factual posts to the group over the last year.

COVID-19—Like most others, the pandemic has changed our lives. We’ve mostly stayed at home since the middle of the second week in March, for the most part only venturing out for groceries, home improvement items, and various appointments.  We pay attention to the situation, including watching our governor’s daily update every weekday afternoon.  I have provided COVID updates to the grassroots Facebook group for our county since the middle of March. For nearly 4 months, since April 5th, I have updated an Arkansas COVID 19 2020 post almost every day, including data for the state, our county, and 5 neighboring counties.

Fitness—Fitness and regular exercise have long been important to us, though I haven’t always been as conscientious as I should have been.  At our ages and health conditions, we feel the need to keep physically active.

We’ve had a membership at a local gym since the early 1990s.  While our use of the facility had varied over the years, in the months leading up to the gym’s closure, we had been very faithful in going there regularly.  I had been in the habit of going in the mornings 5 or 6 times a week, mostly walking the track for 1.5 to 2 hours each visit.

The gym closed the second week of March.  While I’ve been doing work around the property, it’s been hard to get to the same level of activity I had been doing.  We tried going to a local state park but stopped after they closed the restroom facilities as part of the state’s COVID-19 response.

From the middle of March to late June, I gained about 14 pounds.

We had to do something.  Our gym was still closed and, with the current active COVID case level in our state and county, we weren’t sure that we would be comfortable going back any time this year. So, we ordered a treadmill.

Treadmill—We bought a NordicTrack T Series 6.5S treadmill from Amazon and had it delivered on June 26th.  I know jokes are made about treadmills ending up being “clothes-racks” and/or never used, but that’s not going to happen with us.  We have both been using it daily.  I am back to walking 1.5 to 2 hours a day, usually 2, on the treadmill in addition to any that I get in around the property during the day.

Since we got the treadmill, I’ve lost 13 pounds.

American Civil War Chronicles—From about 2000 through 2005, I published Daily Observations From The Civil War (DOTCW), a blog that followed the American Civil War sesquicentennial with daily writings from the time, including diaries, journals, letters, news articles and more.

I have copied all of the posts from DOTCW into a new blog, American Civil War Chronicles, where I am following the run-up to the war and the civil war day-by-day 160 years after the events.

There are 22,524 posts in the blog’s database.  Of these, 555 have already been published, 8,812 have been scheduled, and 13,157 have yet to be reviewed, edited if need be, and scheduled.  I am also adding some new material. Currently, the year being published is 1860, secession is being plotted, the Presidential campaign is underway with 4 main candidates, Lincoln, Douglas, Breckinridge, and Bell.

Unlike many, while we have stayed at home during this pandemic, we have not suffered from not having enough to do.  Our biggest change has been, simply, not going anywhere.  We have plenty to keep us interested and as busy as we want to be.

2020kickstart#1