whew. After ending this archive blog in 2017, I resurrected it in 2022, to declare my survival through the pandemic. But this will be my final post unless a pandemic or something wild of that sort brings me back. Thanks so much to all of you who have read my posts or enjoyed my videos. Best wishes for good health to you and yours in ’23 and beyond.

I don’t usually make resolutions, but, after two years of pandemic protocols and wildly different opinions expressed from every quarter about how we ought to behave in the presence of Covid-19, the nastiest respiratory virus in human history, I felt the need to motivate myself to act and not to be afraid, so I made a resolution on New Year’s Eve last year: I wanted to travel again.

I always find myself on the road. It’s what being homeless most of my life, placeless, has given me – a love of the road. I had followed CDC protocols and had my shots. I still have never contracted the disease to my awareness. If I’ve had it, I never had symptoms.

First, I went to New York to see what it was like “post-pandemic”. Manhattan was a ghost town amidst the Omicron wave. I was afraid to ride the contained space of the subway, so I didn’t even go to Brooklyn, but at least I got a taste once again of the uniquely special energy of that city – that last month was declared the most expensive city in the world.

I spent most of the year in my beloved San Francisco, spending money liberally at businesses that had suffered months and months in the absence of tourists. Saw some really special performances at the Black Cat. Caught some ballgames at the yard, now called Oracle Park.

I went with native americans, to Alcatraz on Indigenous People’s Day for a sunrise ceremony. Held every year on Thankstaking Day, a second day has been added with the acknowledgment of Indigenous People’s Day – on what was only called Columbus Day.

I made it down to San Diego and visited the zoo and caught the last game of the baseball season at Petco Park – our Giants won, to achieve a .500 record, avoiding a losing season. San Diego felt open, post-pandemic and San Francisco was getting there, too. It was time to go abroad.

I chose Amsterdam, first. Things felt crowded, busy and back to normal – nobody even mentioned Covid or the pandemic. I saw very few masks. Social distancing was a thing of the past. I enjoyed the city for weeks and you can see that: Herfst in Amsterdam was wonderful.

From Amsterdam it was off to India and my beloved Pondy – Puducherry! Thank you mother India for welcoming me to the secure comfort of your bosom where I know myself. There’s lots more here on India and content on my youtube channel.

You can use the category 2022 to see all the posts from this year. I also added some Time Travel pieces that group content from months over the last forty years: Time Travel Posts.

But it’s time for me to spend energy on other things.

I was lucky to catch the 2022 Kollam Exhibition on the Pondicherry Promenade and was touched by something I read on one of the pieces. I will conclude with that message:

Be Good, Do Good in 2023

Happy New Year

love,

mtk

December 28th, Tamil Nadu, India