Me? I'm looking UP Bro! But what question shall I address first?

First of all, I am not going to let you get away with telling us those tantalizing details about your entrance into this world without elaborating.........just a little? I always knew there was something very unique about you and my instincts were spot on!

And now you've really stimulated my thought processes, so I thank you for that. They, (my thoughts) are continuously telling me to go at the pace of my aging body but I refuse to give my brain any peace. It was dormant for too long when sinking into the deep abyss of drug addiction........but like you, I have been released from 'prison.' But unlike you, I committed the crime of relying on sleeping pills for my existence........such as it was. But that is relegated to history now.

I can't wait for next Saturday when we get to read another snippet of your past. Love the take away approach my friend. It works every time (lol)

Now let's talk about steemit and why some of us are still here. You did ask, so I'm taking the liberty of giving you my opinion.

One of your questions is this: "Shouldn't we try to redeem at least some value?" That my dear friend is a very relevant question. And it all depends and what you value in steemit. You see, I've stopped putting value on the status of the dollar. I've tranferred it now to where the real value is at the moment, and that is in Steem Power.........emphasis on the word, 'Power.'

I value every single dollar that comes my way, and I can make $100 go a very long way, but I am too old to work therefore I am unable to boost whatever finances I do have. And the older we get, the more concerning it is for us baby boomers to work out how we are going to manage with inflation going up and our health going in the opposite direction.

Our independance is extremely important to us and to our loved ones because their lives are more enjoyable if they are not having to worry about looking after us in our old age. Our sons have always reassured us not to worry about the eventuality of when we can no longer look after ourselves as they will look after us but we do not want to burden them.

I believe that a healthy mind and a positive outlook does wonders for us physically as I have proven this to be true and by stimulating ourselves creatively, I also believe that we slow the aging process down considerably. When the steem value was much higher than what it is currently, it just wasn't possible for John and I to invest in it.

Thankfully, the current scenario is playing right into our hands and we made the decision to make a sacrifice by fore-going our next planned holiday to invest in a little steem while the steem value is low. I would never advise anyone to do what we have done because we really have no idea what the outcome will be. But I strongly 'suspect' that cryptocurrency is the way of the future and when I say, future, I have no time line in mind because if I miscalculated, I would be very disapponted if I was premature in my estimations.

Sure, I'll be very disappointed if steem doesn't turn around in time for me to personally make good use of it but I'd kick myself more if I gave up now and missed out on what could well be, a very worthwhile opportunity. John and I have experienced many heartbreaking losses over the years and acknowledge the extreme difficiulty in finding the positives when everything around us is negative, but we continue to choose to be positive.

I enjoy photography. I enjoy writing. I enjoy developing friendships here in steemit. I also enjoy doing many other activities away from steemit, but if I didn't value Steem like I do, and continue to hope that one day things will improve, I would probably dust off my rusty old knitting needles. But who needs woollen mittens or booties in tropical Queensland?

I rest my case. (U & R )