I promised at least placeholder Open Thread postings for today and next Monday for New Year’s Day. I hope you were able to entertain yourselves during my two week absence in South Carolina.
I went to SC for a couple of reasons — 1, because it was one of two states I had never visited before (I now have all but Alaska) and 2, because I had purchased a couple of those short “low cost” vacations to go listen to timeshare presentations. We went for four nights at Hilton Head and then four nights at Murrel’s Inlet, just south of Myrtle Beach. We also took a day trip to Savannah for a short city tour of the old section. On the way north from HH, we stopped in Charleston for a horse wagon tour of the old section of that city. We had lunch just a block from the church where Dylan Roof slaughtered the prayer circle of black parishioners. I had been reminded of that in the Charleston airport where they had a room for prayer in the center of the airport, in part dedicated to the people wishing to pray for the souls who lost their lives that day. I hate how it’s easy to forget the multiple mass shootings.
With the dryness and warmth of Colorado, it was a surprise to find snow in Atlanta. Fortunately we weren’t affected by it, but we found the weather in South Carolina cooler than many of the days in Denver during the trip.
One sad note, since many Kossacks have met Wiley, my Bichon Schnauzer mix who has been present at many parties. He has been having issues for at least a couple of months and the house sitter had called us on the trip telling us he didn’t want to eat. We took him to the vet the evening we returned, and over the next couple days they have identified he is suffering from prostate cancer and, if we can’t get the swelling down, he may only have a few days to live since his excretory functions are very difficult for him. This year, on January 1st, I lost my mother. January 20th, I lost my job of a dozen years. July 31st, I lost my father. Now, here at the end of the year, I’m going to lose one of my furkids. And all through 2017, politics which is one of my main passions, has sucked greatly as well.
I am looking forward to 2018, as you may well imagine.
So, how has 2017 been for you, what is going on for you in this last week of the year, and do you have anything you wish to share with your fellow Kossacks?