Clinton, South Carolina, Saturday, June 13, 2020, 9:53 a.m.

What have I learned from the great vacant year of 2020?

I’ve got plenty of time to ponder this absence of normality. It’s only half over as the calendar flies.

The pandemic is a house fire that continues to flare up every time it looks like it might be out. The sense of security seems forever false and I am forever lulled.

Sports, the creative center of my life, is a shadow of its formerly burgeoning self. NASCAR is running races without crowds. Football teams are practicing without footballs.

The novel coronavirus, COVID-19, is merely the stage of the tragic play. The actors are marching, holding up placards, staggering through clouds of tear gas, and sometimes running wild in the streets.

Sadness etches life. The specter of racism hangs over me because I mistakenly thought progress was made in the disorder of youth. I was a child of integration. I thought my generation came to grips with bigotry. I didn’t expect mine and those that followed to regress.

But enough of my problems. It’s a time of many having problems, to one extent or another.

I’m not sure whether things are getting back to normal or whether the times are establishing a new normal.

So now I’m watching the Bowery Boys. I used to think those films were stupid.

 

Take a look at my new website, Laurens County Sports. It’s undoubtedly going to be better when Laurens County has actual sports again.

If you enjoy my insights about racing and other subjects, make a small pledge of support. Rewards are in place for pledges of $5 or more. If 1/10 of my followers and Facebook friends pledge $1 a month, I’ll be set. Read all about it here.

If you yearn for my writing in larger doses, I’ve written quite a few books. Most are available here.

Lightning in a Bottle, the first of my two motorsports novels, is now available in audio (Audible, Amazon, iTunes) with the extraordinary narration of Jay Harper.

My eighth novel, a political crime thriller, is called Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. It’s right up to date with the current political landscape in the country.

My writing on other topics that strike my fancy is posted here.