Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
Turn and face the strange…
Don’t want to be a richer man…
There’s gonna be a different man
Time may change me
But I can’t trace time…
⏤David Bowie, “Changes”
First, deepest apologies for recently being derelict in all my Substack posts (besides this one, The Wine Clarion and Culinary Approach to Wine In Restaurants).
You may or may not know, but I’ve spent the better part of the past month packing up my house in Lodi⏤a bigger job than any of my previous moves, because it involved boxing up over 300 framed photographs and extra-large prints⏤and this past week I have finally alighted upon Albuquerque, NM via the usual path through the Mojave Desert, tracing the historic Route 66.
My stay in Albuquerque will be temporary; most likely, just through the month of August, which is when I turn 70.
You may have surmised from recent posts that I have been feeling the years catching up on me. You start to wonder...
Have my nearly 50 years of perspectives on my chosen profession (I started in the wine business as a full-time sommelier just before turning 21) come to pass in terms of import? Or is it more important than ever, in these fraught times?
Is it time to spend more time with family (I have lived completely alone in California for most of the past 16 years just to extend my career, while my four kids and six grandkids have been living in Hawai’i, New Mexico and Pennsylvania)?
The plan, at this point, is to find a home in Pittsburgh in the fall, where Heather (Mrs. Caparoso) and I can play a larger part in the lives of our two youngest adult children, and our three youngest grandkeikis, all under 12. We’re looking forward to it.
That’s it, in a clamshell.
Needless to say, I’m not dead yet. I will continue to write about wine and related subjects, because that’s what I do. There are, in fact, a number of pieces on the back burner. I’ll get to them as soon as my brain finally adjusts to the whirlwind ch-ch-ch-changes.
Photography will be part of it; too late to turn back on that now. It will be interesting, if anything, what forms or shapes all of this will take, once I settle into life in Pittsburgh, PA.
For the first time in my life I am going somewhere without a specific plan, but that’s okay. The circumstances may dictate the directions, and do not think for one moment that I do not appreciate the support of you, my audience on Substack.
Thank you for being part of this journey. Please stay tuned!
Great pics Randy! Between you and Wilfred - none finer at photo journalism!
Randy, Love these photos and your missive from the road. Keep it going. Thinking of you as you settle in with your fam.