If all goes as planned, you’re reading this and Beth and I are in Gulfport, Florida, a delightful little town fifteen minutes from our oldest daughter’s digs in St. Petersburg. If not, we’re somewhere between New York, 35,000 feet above the Atlantic and where we land in Sarasota. After a 3 hour departure delay, I’m hoping for Gulfport.
We toured through here a couple of years ago when we were bumming around with Steph (daughter #2) over the Christmas holidays. It was cold then, too, so I can say with definite authority that if you’re looking for a sunny vacation in Winter, further south is probably a better bet. Big Bierko learns slowly.
Truth is, though, we didn’t set our sights here to lay on the beach (though that could be nice). We missed seeing Helen over the holidays and we are trying (and succeeding) to be with our kids more often. Helen has a new beau, too, who we haven’t met so this is a chance to greet Dan and enjoy some quality time and a lot of seafood together.
This winter jaunt also aligns with our intention to continue interrupting our work with more frequent travel. For the majority of our 32 years in the music business, we chose to spend our money on things like the mortgage and other home expenses, so it’s a pleasure to have downsized to the degree where we are living within our means, saving and enjoying some rest and relaxation.
If it’s rainy, we’ll check out the new biopic about Dylan and we brought reading material. As my readers know by now, Beth and I are more inclined to take a walk at 10am than to go dancing at 10pm. I’ve also been studying some new music production software and Beth has been delving into anatomy to further her yogic studies. Yeah – we’re party animals!
I look forward to posting some details about our trip and hope you are staying safe wherever you are.
By the way, I have also successfully cut down watching or reading the news dramatically. Like my decision to wean myself off of all social media (3+ years), my intention is to further eliminate superfluous news consumption and the negative vibes that come with it. My hope is that I can nurture and sustain a more balanced perspective in life by aligning with more positive energy.
I’m reminded of an older, erudite gentleman who once asked me, “why do you believe in God?” My answer was that I tried being an atheist, but I discovered that I’m happier when I believe in something. He smiled and said, “that’s as good a reason as I’ve ever heard.”
