Happy New Year! I know that many of our loyal Watercooler readers have wondered what’s been going on with the lack of updates lately. Let me assure you, we are still chugging along. The month of December was a bit crazy. Frankly, it was a hot mess. At least that is my excuse. As for George, he has his own excuses, and I’m not going to make any for him. Howie, was our saving grace the last couple of weeks of the month of December with his timely holiday columns.
What’s on tap for 2018? Well, you’re going to see some small changes on the site. One thing you’ll see will be daily postings. Some of the posts will not be the long articles that we’ve regularly done since we began in March 2016. Instead, they may be quick snippets that I find interesting, or of interest to the Greater Niagara and Orleans areas. The posts might also be historical articles like I’ve done every so often.
Regarding the historical articles, I’m often asked why I don’t do more of them. I would love to. The issue becomes a matter of time. Putting together an article like that takes a lot of research time. I try not to write something that’s already been written about fifty times over the last half century. I want to bring you new, exciting stories about the “good, old days.” I want them to be something most people didn’t realize. There is such a rich history across the region that I simply cannot repeat the same old, same old. Don’t worry. I have about six or seven ideas to publish throughout the year.
It’s been about a month since I posted my last book review. They will be back, too. I have some promised reviews that need to be posted, in addition to my regular reviews. In the last half of December, I spent some extra time working on my reading list, so there are plenty of books that I can review. There were several great ones in that pile that has seemingly still not gotten any smaller. If I only had more time.
This year, 2018, will also finally see the completion of my book on the history of the Lockport Fire Department. After a decade of toiling, it is nearing the end. Several hundred thousand pages of newspapers have been scoured. Diaries, scrapbooks, Common Council minutes, and Fire Board minutes have been scrupulously studied. Some final writing and editing is what’s left. And then to find a printer. Don’t worry. It’s coming.
Our podcast will be back in about a week. We generally record on Mondays, so with Christmas and New Year’s Day being on Mondays, we held off on recording for the holidays. Now that we’ve worked through all that, we’ll be back at it with our shenanigans and nonsense. There may also be some slight changes to that, too. It is a new year, after all. Sometimes you do a little tweaking with a new start. We’ll probably have a production meeting sometime this week before recording next Monday.
As a part of this renewed effort by me, I have gone against every instinct in my body, and have decided to actually schedule time to write. That way, I will (hopefully) get writing done without spending all my family time sitting at my computer. That’s one of my resolutions.
Speaking of resolutions, I have a couple of resolutions and some personal goals. They are not the same thing. For goals, I will finish my book. I will also complete the hallway project in our upstairs. I will finish this project after starting it back in October. As for resolutions, I will start eating better, and I will continue to workout regularly. For me, it’s more a matter of feeling better than trying to look good. Looking good has long been an uphill battle for me. I’d simply rather feel better. You’ll read more about that later.
So, we have a fresh, new year awaiting us. Anything is possible. I hope to have a more positive outlook on the new year. We all should. No more negativity, or at least much, much less. In the meantime, Niagara’s Watercooler will be churning out the content. I hope each of you finds something you like.
Craig Bacon isn’t good at planning. We’ll see how setting aside writing time works out.