I feel I owe you loyal readers an explanation for my relative absence (except for movie reviews) over the past month or so. Every December I go through the same doldrums following the avalanche of new releases. I never thought I could burn out on movies, but it does happen. I tend to go into withdrawal over the holidays—reading (Gary Giddins’ new Bing Crosby biography), relaxing and eating too much of the wrong food.
This year was no different, except it took me longer to get my act together again in January. My daughter Jessie and I have maintained our schedule of weekly podcasts, which are great fun to record, but I have had a hard time sitting down and writing. I’ve also been suffering from fatigue. This is partly due to my Parkinson’s, I’m sure, as well as an intense four-week exercise regime I undertook to combat the effects of that disease.
This brief column is my way of saying “I’m back.” I love writing and I’ve always found that work—especially pounding away at a keyboard—is the best way for me to combat malaise. I plan to be posting essays on a wide variety of topics from this point on. I hope you’ll enjoy reading these pieces and passing them along to your friends. If you still haven’t signed up for our e-mail blasts please do, in the box at the right-hand side of this page.
With that I say “Onward and upward.” See you online.
