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My One Year Anniversary

I didn't exactly move from Appleton to Milwaukee until August 15, 2019. However, I did stay with a friend here starting on the seventh until I could move into my apartment on the fifteenth. It enabled me for that period of time to begin renewing my friendships in the city. One of those meetings was extremely timely. I got together with Whitney Gould. It would be the last time I would see her. She passed away not long after that lunch we had together.

There was a flurry of coffees, lunches, and breakfast meetings as I touched base with as many people as I could. Then it was time for the Milwaukee Film Festival. I know I wouldn't have attended near as many films if I hadn't been in the city. After that, it was seeing some films that were reprieved for a couple of weeks after the closing of the festivals run.

As the theater season began it's run, my efforts to publish my theater preview column were rewarded. I got the opportunity to write for Urban Milwaukee.com. Not only did a great opportunity to write my column, but I also got a great editor, Bruce Murphey.

The holidays were different in that there was no family to celebrate it with however, I made new friends during the season that made it more than worthwhile. 

Back in August, I became interested in writing a novel about the women in a young man's life and how they may affect him, sometimes without even knowing it. The manuscript 26 Women became my hobby writing, I finished the first draft right after the first of the year.

In addition to writing fiction, I began learning how to pencil sketch by watching a tutorial on YouTube and reading instruction manuals from Pinterest. While I still sketch a lot, I'm putting my toe in the water and starting to learn watercolor. I bypassed the trend of people becoming bread bakers. I already knew how to bake bread, make my own granola, and create refrigerator pickles.

The COVID 19 happened. Like many people my age, the economic effects of this pandemic are minimal. My income from Social Security is coming every month and because of the restraint on socialization, my expenses have gone down. However, loneliness is inescapable. I have a list of people that I call on a regular basis. We mainly just check on each other. News is hard to come by and talking about politics is dismal.

The only news that has been good lately is the birth of my new great-grandson Bodon and the announcement that my granddaughter Micka is pregnant with twins.

The theaters closed meaning my column is in hiatus. My opportunity to become a qualified facilitator for The Zeidler Group was stalled until they began holding their events on Zoom. I'm also Zooming with a film club, political interviews, theatrical readings, and instructional events.

Life has been good. I'm happy my decision to move to Milwaukee has turned out as well as I hoped and offered even more than I expected.


Comments

  1. JudgeTWiggleAugust 12, 2020 at 3:07 PM

    Good to hear that things have worked out so well Jeff. You have a varied and interesting life, keep blowin' the harp. Did I tell you I stayed in an intriguing
    B & B in the birthplace of Charlie Musselwhite on the Blues trail in Mississippi?

    ReplyDelete
  2. JudgeTWiggleAugust 12, 2020 at 3:14 PM

    You may know me as Roger the bassist from the Expansion Band.
    Sorry for any confusion

    ReplyDelete

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