Cup of Coffee: October 9, 2023

The O's are reeling, the Twins bounce back, a workhorse goes under the knife, spare me the poetry, "Blackberry," how Ohio is killing its citizens, and the Sandwich Industrial Complex

Good morning!

First off I’d like to thank Bill for running the newsletter while I was gone. When you’re a one-person operation it’s extremely anxiety-inducing to step away and leave things dark for any amount of time, so having Bill’s steady hand on the tiller was extraordinarily liberating. Bill’s a good egg and a great writer and I am so, so grateful that he was willing to mind the store and that he did so so ably.

Second off, I wanted to let you all know that I’m doing fine, both physically and mentally. My lower leg/ankle/tendon/muscle is still not 100% but it has progressed from “painful, cannot walk” to “painful, can kinda walk” to “stiff, can walk but not super fast and not for a long time.” Based on what the NHS doctor and my own doctor here at home told me, and based on everything I’ve read, I’m on a typical recovery path for the kind of injury I’ve got. I should be pretty much back to normal before too long.

Mentally speaking I was in a pretty decent funk for a few days after I had to pull the plug on my hike. I moped my way back home last weekend and moped around the house for a few days afterward, but I’ve mostly achieved a zen state about it all. I’m now spending more time thinking about how much fun I had and being proud of myself for what I did accomplish than I am spending being bummed about how it ended. A great deal of that is a function of so many of you shooting me supportive messages and emails. I cannot thank you enough for that.

Enough with that. I’m back, the playoffs are raging, I’ve got some articles I bookmarked last week I wanna share with you all, and it’s time to get back to work.