The World is too much with us…

In practical terms, the time and effort I expend on Facebook is kind of a sunk cost. The work itself is kind of lost to me, since I haven’t had a printer for years. Why I gave into temptation last week and bought some of my own work back from Meta. The excuse was easy. A small format book was only $75. And by any measure, 2025 was a very historical year. The book came yesterday. At least it shows me specific dates on which posts I might like to look up again for recapture can be found at my FB page. That date search feature still works thus far. Here’s a glance at the new book.

160 pages. Not complete but representative.

Of course the presence of this one is also a reminder of all the years I don’t have, enumerated in some detail at an Instapunk Returns post called “A Big Missing Piece.” It’s a very big piece. I have two other slivers of it from past years. The three together are about 500 pages out of more than 5,000 pages for the lot.

At least they’re tangible. A kind of physical proof. Not as important as what I learned from creating the content, a process still ongoing. 

One more physical proof I dusted off in the last week or so. The portrait of Doctor Dream I had transferred to a canvas stretcher is one of quite a few physical artifacts I’m hanging onto. Like the print books, it helps to be able to put my hands on them.

Why now? A time for looking back. Today is our 20th wedding anniversary (I haven’t shown her this yet). A big deal. We’re still here. And my life does not consist of bitter regrets. Rather the opposite. Gratitude for the whole roller coaster ride is what I feel. I sometimes wonder how many, or few, of my generation feel the same way at this stage of life. 

The coaster at King’s Island in Ohio. The only stand-up coaster in the world at the time. 

I rode it twice in a row. My ex-wife insisted on going, waiting in line for an hour, 

then chickening out. When I returned, she’d had another change of heart and 

wanted to prove to herself she could do it. I will never forget the look on 

her face as we reached the top of the first hill, shackled into our 

stand-up positions; her terror was palpable. 

But she was glad afterwards.

Facebook is a part of the long ride. Fun, frustrating, and productive. The experience is not missing, even if I’m short on proof.