Coupeville Sports

Nuff said.

Well, I guess we could just call it a vacation.

I know, I know, I haven’t even been gone long enough to grow a luxurious “retirement” beard like David Letterman.

But, while my 10-day sabbatical only allowed me enough time to seed the facial growth, it did give me ample opportunity to reflect on life itself.

I watched some movies — quality stuff like “Bring Me the Head of the Machine Gun Woman” and “Bear Force One” — talked to my landlord’s feral cats, avoided looking for a “real” job and scrolled back through most of the history of Coupeville Sports.

As I did so, a couple of things became clearer.

No one delivers a solid-gold quote like Willie Smith and I used to really enjoy giving South Whidbey verbal wedgies.

Oh, the olden days…

Also, and this probably matters more — there are parts of my life which fuel the depression I fight on an on-again, off-again basis.

Things I need to work on, deal with or walk away from.

Writing is not one of those things.

In fact, it’s the exact opposite.

Writing is the one thing in my life which makes me soar. That gives me an outlet.

As I went back through Coupeville Sports — 5,141 articles stretching over the past four years and eight months — I was reminded of what a unique opportunity I have been given with this blog.

I have a chance to tell the world a multitude of stories.

To give folks from rural Pennsylvania to big city Brazil and everywhere in between a window into the wonder that takes place every day on a prairie in the middle of a rock stuck out here in the waters of the Pacific Northwest.

Along the way I can write about whatever I want, whenever I want, in whatever style I want.

How can I throw that away?

I can’t.

To everyone who talked to me over the past 10 days, in public or private, your support has meant, and will continue to mean, a lot.

To those who have purchased ads or made donations in the past (or those who might now do so), you are the lifeblood of Coupeville Sports.

But so are the moms who leave brownies in my mailbox or the people who share my stories on Facebook or the teen titan who autographs my scorecard after blasting a game-winning double off a two-time league MVP.

Lookin’ at you, Jae LeVine. That’s gonna be worth money some day soon.

We all need a purpose in life. Something to tell the feral cats about as they try and ignore you and concentrate on the tuna you’re bribing them with.

The last 10 days have given me a chance to reflect, to reconsider, to relight the fire.

I’m a writer.

Today, tomorrow, always.