Photo by Flickr user figleaf (hey, that’s me!) Posted under a Creative Commons license.

Just got back from the digital middle of nowhere in the middle of the state of Maine. Had a great time in the real world with what at times seemed like a million relatives but was never more than 200 and was usually less than 15, on islands, on ponds, in hardwood forests, and planes, trains, automobiles, subways, buses, cars, ferries, kayaks, and on foot.

But not, unfortunately, on line!

Even in Boston the connections were sparse. It didn’t help that for the second time in as many years the battery on my Macbook decided to start bulging out of its case instead of, you know, storing and retrieving electricity. Nor did it help that I’ve got an iPhone, and, consequently, cellular and data service from AT&T.

So…

I learned to swim efficiently. I learned how to cook lobster. Even though I vastly prefer crab. Got a lot closer to a lot of in-laws. Read a ton of cheap novels. Listened to the mad calls of loons on the lakes. Watched my children gorge on wild blueberries they could reach by swimming or paddling with their cousins little islands in the lake no too far from shore. Hung out in a wood-fired sauna gossiping, exfoliating with loofahs, and leaping into deliciously cool-not-cold water when we overheated. Got teased for having zero tan. Got up every morning and watched the sun’s reflection glowing off the water through the trees. Napped frequently. Had feverishly erotic dreams, brought on no doubt by the almost complete lack of privacy that comes from too many relatives of too many ages and backgrounds sharing just a bit too little space and a little too much going on at all times for anyone to discretely slip away with their sweetie for a little quiet time.

Anyway, I’ve got a million emails, texts, voice mails, and plain old mail mails to catch up on, dozens of posts I need to polish up and (I hope) post, and… now that I’m back in town… a house that needs keeping up, a family that needs feeding, income that needs, somehow, to be earned, and…

I’m 99%... not quite 100%... glad to be back.

Posting will resume.