As James Joyner has noted in previous posts — here, here, and here — I’ve been absent from OTB, and more generally speaking from social media for an extended period of time. This absence was abrupt and unplanned and I apologize for all the concern that I caused. Suffice it to say that it was unavoidable.
In any case, I just wanted to post a short note to thank everyone here and on social media who have reached out in concern about my whereabouts and well-being. Honestly, I didn’t realize my absence would cause this much concern, especially given the fact that our relationships are mostly electronic. I suppose it has taught me that online relationships can be as real as “real life” and family relationships. In fact, it appears that they can be stronger. I’d also like to thank some specific people, such as my good friend Jazz Shaw at Hot Air, who reached out in a more personal way. Again, I apologize for the undue worry I caused everyone.
I’m not sure when I’ll be getting back into the swing of things here at OTB, but I hope it will be soon. I have been keeping abreast of the news in my absence — such as the Mueller report, the resignation of Kristjen Nielsen, and Trump’s idiotic threats to close the southern border —and I suppose it’s comforting to know nothing has really changed in my absence. You can imagine what my comments about all of this might be. In any case, I hope to be close to back to “normal” soon, especially since we’re heading into the busy season for Supreme Court opinions. Finally, I’d like to extend a belated welcome to Butch Bracknell, the newest member of the OTB stable of writers.
As for me, as I said I am okay to at least answer that part of people’s concerns. I’m not sure how much of what has happened I’ll be sharing in the future. Like many people, I tend to be circumspect about those parts of my personal life I share on the Internet. In any case, as I said. the one thing I’ve learned from all this is the strength of the online communities we create on social media and the blogosphere and I appreciate all of the concern and words of encouragement I have received. They meant quite a lot to me when I did see them.
Anyway, that’s it for now. You’ll probably see the occasional political post from me in the coming days. To be honest, I need to get used to the new post format that came with the WordPress update that James wrote about last week. It’s a bit different from what I’ve been used to for the past two or three iterations of the software. At the very least though I’ll try to check in more regularly until things get back to what passes for normal.
In any case, as I said, thanks to everyone for your concern.
