About Resolve and Old Frigging Cities

Post 1692:

When a new year comes, it’s hard not to take a look at the state of yourself. Even if you didn’t do much at all in 2024, the Earth did a thing with the Sun and now here it all goes again. Weeeeeee.

I’m not one of these people who makes no resolutions. The older I get, the more resolutions I need. Ten more sit-ups a day or this boy’s getting bigger. Less sugar. More reading, fewer shows and videos. Maybe a little friendlier. Better. Calmer.

All this stuff takes effort. The older, the more effort. But hey, old can be good. Every time I look at cities in Europe I’ve barely heard of, they seem like they’re out of a nice dream. The squares and the cafes, quaint and clean, classy and beautiful. Where? Slovenia? How the hell?

Obviously, the people making those old frigging cities look good and cute and friendly made some resolutions. Like, “I know we’ve been conquered and blown up seventy times in the last 1000 years, but these streets need paving.” Or, “I wish we had our own stock market, but screw it, let’s get some fresh paint over that graffiti.”

It’s admirable, keeping things together when they tend to fall apart. Hey, what other options? Nobody’s dying to live in urban blight. Sorry, (Insert Large American) City, USA.

Do your best not to be Cleveland. Resolve to be a little more Gdańsk. Trust me, it’s a place.

Happy New Year. Cheers and see you after.