Blog years are like dog years, and the life of a personal blog is, on average, remarkably short. That this site has lasted for 21 years is less a miracle and more a testament to my dogged and persistent drive to put down events, no matter how mundane or simple, into words in an effort to understand them and work through them. For the most part, once I write about something I’m able to let it go in some small way, having acknowledged and honored whatever it might be.
Last year we celebrated the 20th anniversary of ALANILAGAN.com with a series of nostalgic look-backs at what the previous two decades had brought. It was a rare exercise of momentarily living in the past to see how much had changed, how much had stayed the same, and how much no longer even mattered. My favorite writer at the Times Union wrote this fabulous piece about the blog for Pride Month (and I had my typical over-analytical reaction in an entirely-unnecessary navel-gazing that went on for two wretched blog posts).
As we enter the 21st year of sharing all the nonsense here, I won’t get too long-winded as these other posts capture all the looking-back I want to do right now:
This year, my website is officially drinking age – and perhaps there is some irony in that since I no longer drink. (My generation is still a little fuzzy on the real meaning of irony, thank you Alanis Morrissette.) It is but one of the many changes that have occurred in the life of this blog. More are on the way, and 2024 looks to be a quietly transformative year. Those are often the most powerful ones – and the ones that change everything, always for the better.
As for what is to come as we celebrate the 21st birthday of this place, I am planning to keep things relatively quiet for the first part of the year, winding through winter in stillness and silence whenever possible, taking things gently. Sometimes looking back can wear a guy out. Time for more tea…
