The Gazette and a promise....

For those with an interest, the latest edition of The Gibson Gazette, our annual update that we send to some family and friends, is available. (I tried to provide a PDF version with this posting, but it wouldn't load. This was my first try at this, so there might be a way to do it, but I couldn't figure it out, and the "how to" and FAQ links on the blogspot "help" site is anything but very helpful. A JPG version of Page One is provided. To make it bigger, just hold down the Ctl button and hit the + button four or five times. If you want Page Two, please send me an email -- jayhawkprof@yahoo.com is preferred because I check it more often while home -- and I'll send you the PDF version of this latest edition and/or, on request, previous editions.)

As many of you might know, The Gibson Gazette gives updates on family and friends, hitting some (not all) of the highlights during a year.

And, yes, it is in traditional newspaper format. While I embrace the present, it is the past that provided most of my rewards in life. So the Gazette is both a recognition and a tribute to those treasured times. That said, as many of you know, I am most envious of the current crop of budding journalists, and not because they're decades younger than I. It's because they are entering the most exciting age journalism has offered, allowing them to speak to the world, as well as being part of a generation that will redefine -- reinvent -- what good journalism is and should be.

While the Gazette is an annual event, this blog is not -- though it might seem that way because I've failed to post anything in a few months. The reasons are many, yet all are feeble when analyzed. So, a promise: Every Saturday morning, I've promised myself to post "something" -- if not a carefully crafted tome, then a least a few scratchy sentences.

I started the blog to get back to honing what little writing talents and skills I might possess because I have several (many, really) writing projects I'd like to pursue, especially after retirement. Writing well, I fear, is much like my chess game, which once was quite good but now suffers greatly from inactivity.

So I ask your patience and indulgence (as well as any constructive criticism).

For now, I wish you all a holiday season and a new year filled with good health and happiness.