The Prize Idiot Edition
July-ish, 2025
Hey there, Faithful Readers —
It’s been a few months since I tapped out one of these newsletters. I’m sure you enjoyed the extended moments of peace and quietude.
Life just got a little busier than usual; nothing that far out of the status quo, but with just enough turbulence to disrupt my usual syrupy pace of existence.
Somewhere in there, Carol and I went for a lovely vacation with our closest friends Bert and Marsha. Flying into Las Vegas, we first visited the Hoover Dam, then proceeded to spend a few days at the Grand Canyon before continuing on to see several national and state parks: Arches, Canyonlands, Goblin Valley, Bryce Canyon, and Zion. It was a wonderful, if exhausting, trip, made all the more draining by the 23.5 continuous hours of travel it took for Carol and me to make it back from Mesquite, NV to Winthrop, ME.
Here’s a video taken from a great vantage point at the tip of the Grandview Trail at the Grand Canyon:
It’s been ten weeks since our return and I’ve almost caught up on my sleep.
During this extended absence from my base fans fan base, I haven’t been doing quite as much writing as I normally do. But strangely enough, I’ve generated more interest in my writing from outside parties than I normally do: I was honored to be a guest on a long-running cable interview program:
(By “long-running,” I mean Suzette has been doing this show for many years, not that my interview went on interminably.)
(Also, in and amidst all my “y’know”s, I said “Bookstore.org” when I meant “Bookshop.org” — the second URL is linked to my most recent book, if you’re inclined to purchase or share.)
Most recently, I won second place in a prestigious writing competition, sponsored by the National Society of Newspaper Columnists — of which I am a member, even though I am not a newspaper columnist. Hey, I’m not responsible for their bylaws:
I’m sandwiched between two pretty fine writers here. I’ll herein immodestly post links to the columns I submitted for judging:
Briefs Encounter (from 2/18/2024)
Prostate the Obvious (from 11/21/2024)
I’ve posted the occasional Trump-themed verse since we were last in touch. I won’t list all the individual links here, but will direct you to the Trump, In Verse website and you can scroll through as many of the more recent ones as you can stomach:
https://trumpinverse.com/category/politics/2nd-campaign-and-term/
Rather ironically, my columnist prize came from submitting a few of my trademark self-deprecating essays, of which I’ve produced only a single new one since the end of May:
Bar None (July 16, 2025)
As I say, it’s been a busy few months; hoping to generate more quality content at a faster clip once I get past a few more time- and attention-consuming events during the remainder of the summer.
I hope this note finds you and yours doing well. In the words of the immortal Bob & Ray: “Keep those cards and letters.”
~ JB