It’s a weekend of celebrations!  Our country is celebrated its 245^th birthday this past weekend, and in only five short years – we’ll be heading for a banner Sestercentennial (or Quartermillenial) celebration here in the good ‘ol U.S.A (although neither of those sounds catchy emblazoned on a T-shirt).  That’s 250 years, if you haven’t guessed yet.  I wonder what sort of celebrations and events will take place in 2026?  Who knows?  I fondly remember our bicentennial (1976), a year’s worth of parades, special events, fireworks, the Tall Ships, and the Freedom Train.  Hard to believe how fast the time rolls on by.

The other anniversary is a little closer to home.  On July, 11^th 2021, thatfoodandtravelguy.com will have been around for five years.  I know, it’s hard to believe.  I started out this blog as a side hustle, hoping to use it to make some revenue during the dark days of unemployment (following the unceremonious offshoring of my position from IBM), and I thought free-lance writing would be the ticket.  Unfortunately, like many ideas and dreams, the riches and wealth of gig writing did not cooperate, but I enjoyed the discipline, practice, and structure of a weekly blog, so I continued on with it anyway.

I’d like to think my writing skills have improved since that very first article.  I’ve learned to take myself a little less seriously, and hope that those of you that have stopped in to read a blog or two have gained something from it, whether it be real information or just to be entertained by my life and antics.  This week’s post will mark 292 entries, and while I’ve sometimes suffered from writer’s block and been desperately sitting in front of a blank page on a Sunday night (trying to come up with something for a Monday release), I have to say I’ve enjoyed every minute of it – and hope to continue on for the foreseeable future.

Who knows?  Maybe in a few short years I’ll be telling you all about our country’s 250^th birthday.  It’s not that far away.

Thanks to all of you who have taken the time to read my scribblings and bibblings, and I’ll try to keep you engaged and interested – even if it is for only five minutes over your morning coffee.

All the best,

Jim