Old and hopefully wiser ...

[Jackson]

Hi. Hope you are bearing up under the strains of this pandemic & economic crisis.

I'm a 71 year old "newbie" here, with a bit of an unusual history. I was a serious activist against the Vietnam War in my youth, and in some sense have never "recovered," or at least am unwilling to forget the lessons from those times. I was arrested, beaten, but with a high draft number never served. Would have gone and probably gotten myself killed or put in an army prison or mentally destroyed like so many others. Hated that war with a passion, and was too angry and radical to vote for any mainstream candidate for years. I became a blue collar union worker, bit of an organizer and activist, and dissident. Now I find myself surprisingly happy & retired in sunny Florida. I'm more intellectual than most blue collar types. Not a socialist, but would have voted for "capitalist to my bones" Warren or "democratic socialist" Bernie. I have little hope this country or the world will change for the better. I rather suspect we on the road to hell -- but maybe that's just old age talking. After retiring I did something unusual. I spent 8 years in China, where I studied Chinese and taught a little ballroom dancing. My beautiful 6th month old American granddaughter still lives in Beijing with her American Dad and Chinese Mom.

Hope to meet some good and interesting people here!

Well, you are a very interesting person! Welcome and glad you are back in the states.