On March 1, this ejournal turned 10. It seems an appropriate time for reflecting, but on what? How the electronic world – especially blogs, have changed – and how they have changed other things? In the early days of blogging, I remember much discussion about how blogs were becoming a source of original journalism. How they were challenging print newspapers. I have not subscribed to a print newspaper for a year, but it isn’t because of blogs. For me, ejournaling and reading the blogs of others are done more for personal, artistic reasons.

I remember also many assertions that commenting was an essential part of the process, that it was sparking innovative new dialogue, expanding connections and communication. I don’t engage in commenting all that much, and rarely get comments here. For me, that connection has been via email, and more recently, the social network. I’ve sustained this journal for longer than I have using any other method. I have boxes of handwritten journals, and diskettes containing pages of electronic text, but none has gone on in the same place for close to ten years. There were always long gaps. That’s never happened here, at www.gullybrookpress.blogspot.com

Should my reflections instead focus on the changes of the past ten years? I was 40 when I started writing here, and now I am 50. I had just taken the plunge into the non-9-5 world of consulting, freelance writing, and adjunct teaching. I had Rudy, Sophie and Edna, all now passed away – Sophie just a month ago. The years brought Ande, also gone, as well as Sam, Teddy, and Rosie – all with me as I write this; Rosie we’ve had for just over a week. Several former teachers have died, as have aunts, uncles, and friends. Ten days ago, my mother-in-law passed away.

A niece was born, and a nephew and a niece have gotten married. Three grandnephews and two grandnieces have been born. We got a swimming pool! I’ve gone through several computers. I’ve had two articles and a book published. Bob has had four operations. I’ve had two crowns, one extraction, Lyme Disease and I destroyed my ankle. My hair has turned salt and pepper (though it is still more pepper than salt).

I am not much of a traveler – preferred the staycation approach before it was trendy. (Call me provincial.) Aside from visits to family, the trips I can remember taking were to Vermont, the Finger Lakes, Philadelphia, Buffalo, New York, Cortland, Syracuse, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Cherry Plain, Oneonta, Cooperstown, Binghamton, and I finally visited both Mark Twain’s Hartford house and his grave site in Elmira.