Went to the Martha's Vineyard Agricultural Society Fair yesterday.

I became a fully qualified firefighter at 57 after 2 years as probie (20+ fires) & much formal training. Per state law I retired @ 65. I was stronger & in better shape than several younger guys in our dept. I loved being a firefighter & was good at it. But it was time. Aging sucks but it is a fact.

Each year on Father's Day I use this beer mug, which, along with my name & a predilection for firefighting I inherited from my father. Note the date: October 1981. My father served 23 years on NCFD, but by 1981 he had been retired for 10 years and was living in Connecticut. NCFD remembered. Respect.

Before t*t*r turned all to shit I used to periodically post 'biceps vanity man' updates, ~ 1 photo/season. Usually got several fun comments/encouragement. If I post em on mtdn, just awkward silence. On bsky: silence — and a few unfollows, lol. Here's January 2024 update. Enjoy!

Draft cover of the forthcoming 25th anniversary edition of Acts of the Apostles. Your comments and boosts eagerly sought. For updates on this & related projects, please subscribe to JohnSundman.substack.com

I became a firefighter when I was 55 & got my 'fully qualified' green tags at 57. I exercised religiously & was in better shape than many younger guys. I loved being a firefighter & was good at it but at 65 I retired. A matter of simple actuarial reality. #McConnell #Feinstein

Lovely rain this morning on Martha's Vineyard. I love the sound of rain on the skylight above the desk in my attic office; I love looking at the tops of the oak trees in the woods behind our house through the cascading water.

Nice to see this on rock star writer Geraldine Brooks' facebook page. (Her comment: This has become, no question, my favorite substack). (With a link to my most recent post, "When I got knifed")