Know Jack #491 Be It Hereby Resolved

Even with the advent of a new great-grandson, I don’t think 2026 is going to be a “new year, new me” kind of year. I have no plans for becoming a static display either. I don’t have a time machine, but I’m thinking of having a “back to the future” year. That is, I plan to recapture some of the old “me”. I am making those plans knowing full well the world I lived in back then no longer exists.

One of the foreseen consequences of such a move is to find oneself out of place. Having been born 200 years too late, I have some experience in that area. My quixotic thinking will make it an adventure. One thing I feel sure of is that upon reaching the end, I won’t wish I had read (or written) other books. As for the unforeseen consequences, well, that’s what makes it an adventure.

I read the other day that some universities have scratched The Odyssey from their libraries because reading it means you’re a “right-winger”. I always thought I was way out in right field long before reading it. Politically, I’m not a Trump acolyte or a Regan Republican. I’m more a Madison for President kind of guy with a liking for Fillmore and Coolidge.

I have this strange idea that what’s right and good for all people is not only objective, but timeless. Pursuit of happiness and the good life have little to do with monetary wealth, fame, influence, or any of the currencies of modern society. Those things all fade. The satisfaction that comes with doing what one loves endures the assaults of time and changing popular opinion. It cannot be taken away. Returning to the timeless and the pursuit of true happiness is my resolution for the coming year.