The Ramble at Fifteen!

 

by Rocky Macy

Fifteen years ago today was a Sunday and I was kicking around my apartment in Goodyear, Arizona, feeling somewhat depressed and lonely.  I had been surfing the internet and not found anything to capture my interest, so on a whim I decided to try to learn how to blog - and that night "Pa Rock's Ramble" was born.  Now, fifteen very fast years later, I am still learning how to blog and banging out a posting every day.  This effort is number 5.640!

Over the years I have posted original writings - poetry, stories, humor, and even a few of my old college essays.  I have also put up a lot of opinion on political matters and stories in the news, book and film reviews, some thoughts on contemporary life, farm tales, and quite a bit of family history.  The blog has also contained some very good postings from guest-bloggers on various topics.  "The Ramble" has slowly developed into a very mixed bag.

George W. Bush was President when the effort began.  My first posting was a political piece entitled "Obama '08," which served as my rational for choosing to support the Illinois senator in his run for the presidency.  Barack Obama won that election exactly one year later.   Over the years I wrote about four Presidents:  Bush, Obama, Trump. and Biden., faithfully doing one posting each day and managing to cover many aspects of those four administrations.

I have also used this space to brag about my children and grandchildren, especially on their birthdays.  When I started this effort I had two grandchildren - and now I have been blessed with six!  They have all been inspirations for blog postings at various times, and some very special moments from their childhoods have been captured and shared in "The Ramble."

I have typed my way through a couple of wars, a global pandemic, good elections and others that were not so good, natural disasters, and all manner of scandals, crimes, and criminals.  I have written about travels and foreign cultures from places like Okinawa, Korea, Taiwan, Guam, Cuba, most of the islands of the Caribbean and a couple of Central American countries, and a dozen or so states in the US.

"The Ramble" has also been instrumental in helping me to reconnect with friends and relatives, connections that I treasure.

It's been a helluva ride, but I sense that it is quickly drawing to a close.

For anyone who has ever taken the time to read something that I have written in this space - thank you.  Without readers it is just a typing exercise.

My very best to you all.  

Pa Rock