My Annual New Year's Diary Post

 I spent 10 years fighting the cider industry after we formed our cider business in 2008, up until 2018, when I completed my book. I can't count all the beefs I had with the industry, except that they fell into three categories: 1) cider agriculture, 2) the art of cider making, and 3) the way capitalist "entrepreneurs" do business (exploit the labor force, exploit the customer, and exploit the two aforementioned categories, art and farming.)

I wrote about this a lot over those 10 years and my discontentment also came-out as a major element of the book. (One might even say it was the dominant theme of the book and the reason for the sub-title.) But the second I finished the book in the summer of 2018 I suddenly became less critical of the cider industry and instead focused on my personal life. Over the past 3 years there have been some huge changes to my family, to me personally (body and mind), and to society in general, which I've reflected-on for personal consideration. Trying to influence cider just isn't my preoccupation.

I've also noticed that the cider industry got better in those 3 years and it's not as easy to get worked-up about it anymore. One can find decent cider easier in stores now, there's a greater diversity of producers, and more farmers are growing cider apples (even if they are doing it the completely wrong way still.) Yes, I still want to stick a fork in the eye of all the capitalists and sell-outs who disguise their true motives as "art" or as "doing good for the economy and planet" (they may not even know they're doing it), but every industry is dominated by those types and, in fact, cider has a smaller percentage of them. Long story short: The cider industry is a relatively good team to be on, even if I wish to distinguish myself from most my teammates. 

Now when I write, I'm writing about broad philosophical ideas that relate to a greater audience, so I haven't been publishing cider diary posts like this one recently. (In my head, I'm writing stories that are more for lay-people, though I'm pretty sure what I write will never get "polished and published.") But I'm also nostalgic for the dialog I've had with my colleagues in the foodie world, and the winter is historically when we all got together (we've been doing so for over a decade now!) Let me just say to you now: I MISS YOU BROTHERS AND SISTERS! Happy 2021.