John Burkholder

 I did something to my back. I find it interesting that after all these years, my body shows me new things that can be accomplished. When I was much younger than I am now, I climbed telephone poles as part of my job in the Air Force. I was great at going up the poles, moving around the pole, and even working on stuff while I was at the top of the pole. I have been electrocuted multiple times while up there by either the central office sending “ring” voltage down the line, or an electrical wire being too close to the telephone cable and inducting electricity over to it. But in either case, I was still fine, up on the pole, with two slivers of metal holding me astride the vertical pole.  Coming down though... that was a different story. I would often “gaff out”. Coming down the pole was always the hardest part for me. You are supposed to straighten your leg, and drop into your next gaff point below you. In my case, I straightened my lag, and would slide down the pole because I would slap

 Burn out? Monotony getting to you? Being locked up in your house for a year finally taking a toll? Yeah...me too. So what happens now that people are getting immunized? Do we expect vacations and holiday trips to escalate significantly? I supposed so. I suspect there will be about a 120% increase in travel compared to pre-COVID. being caged up this long is hard and people are reaching their limit. They are willing to go wherever, whenever as long as it is not home. Big concerts and festivals will be sold out in record times. Restaurants will be packed with new ones popping up almost as fast as they shut down last year. The "bounce" will be compared to the "roaring 20s" of before.  But how does that help me now? Yeah, it doesn't. I will just keep watching YouTube videos of places I could go and think about how it could be when this ends. But much like all the things I planned to do if I were forced to stay home like learning new languages, skills and crafts...th

 I have a LOT of acquaintances. My LinkedIn has many people who I have worked with and connected with during various speaking engagements or meetings. But none of them I would consider "friends". Facebook, Twitter, and any of the other social media platforms all have either school, work, or local acquaintances. I have never really placed an importance on the friend-relationship vibe.  Don't get me wrong, I have had friends in the past in school, or work, but maintaining those relationships apart doesn't have the same effect as when you are interacting with them directly. They drift back into the acquaintance group after a little bit of time. My best friend is my wife. She will listen to me, will advise me, and will hold my hand if I am ill or feeling like I am having a down day. I rely upon her. The problem is... I think I have finally reached a point I need more friends. I am finally slowing down enough that I could use other's viewpoints, opinions, and advice. I