2023 is middle age today. I recall when he was just a baby. I have forgotten my New Year’s Resolutions…and I am just as happy. Hail hit nearby last evening and broke out car windows. It was baseball size and beyond. That size of hail can be deadly. This is the 4th of July Weekend…or as Ratty said to Mole, ‘Believe me my young friend, there is nothing-absolutely nothing-half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.’

Winerys are the Go-To places for fun in the summer in our neck of the woods. Southern Illinois has a reputation for fine wineries. There are limousine services that will take you to the many and varied wineries and you can drink to your heart’s content and not have to drive. Having been at a Winery and observing the occupants of one of the Limos Wine Trail participants come into the facility I can attest that they are exceedingly happy and a bit unaware of their surroundings.

Whiskey is good…especially when it is in an Old Fashioned. We had a Bar that we very much enjoyed visiting on Saturdays prior to the Pandemic. It reminded me of the old television show Cheers…where everybody knows your name. A drink or two was fun and the fellowship of Aaron and Jonathon…and once in a while, MJ…was even better! Giant City Lodge has a wonderful and rustic little Bar. It is a bit secluded and you are surrounded by stuffed wildlife and good conversation. The Half-Way marker of today seems like just the time to try it out.

We mark our time on Earth in years…but what if we marked the journey in half years? Just think…I could boast of being on this side of the dirt for 130 half years. Or how about Christmas every six months? Or New Year’s Resolutions that you only had to commit to for half as long…

A little drink for those who like it is a nice adult pastime. However, Holiday Happiness does not come in a can or a bottle. I listened to a gentleman who has the goal to walk across all the countries of the Earth and he has been walking for 10 years. When asked about the various places that he had seen and the cities and environments he answered that he…walks toward people and that people were his entire motivation to keep walking…