Five Years!

Five years.
That's half of a decade,
In dog years it's supposed to be 35, but I'm told it varies based on the size and breed of the dog.

It is believed that five years is also the lifespan of a Giant Squid.

Five years ago today, I started writing, with the simple goal of doccumenting a gondola expedition down the Hudson River.  I really didn't know what the heck I was doing (and some might argue that I still don't).
We rowed down the river from Albany, NY to Ground Zero in Manhattan.
it was a tribute row for the "fallen heroes of 9/11".
It was the time of our lives, and I'm certain that the fine people I shared six days in a boat with would agree that it was well worth writing about.

Through the experiences of writing both before and during the expedition,
I became a little more comfortable with writing, and after it was all over there were still many things to write about. 
Thanks to Nereo Zane, there were plenty of great photos to post too.

At some point I decided that maybe I had a few stories I might like to share, so I kept writing.

Friends with gondolas in other places encouraged me by reading,
commenting, and even giving me photos and stories to use.
I'm still figuring things out, but I've learned that much of life involves
"figuring things out".

Five years have passed, and the Gondola Blog has over 1,800 posts up for viewing.
Sure, some of the things that have been published here have required a lot of research and effort, but many more are just fun pieces or photos.

Milestones are important for several reasons.
Often they are most important to those who have achieved them.
Really, five years is a short span of time when compared to so many other accomplishments.

Nevertheless, five years is something I'm happy to have completed.

So let's take a moment and contemplate this quantity of time.

It took James Dyson five years to invent his cyclonic bagless vacuum cleaner.

While not all five-year-olds can read yet, the average five-year-old has a vocabulary of 2,500 words or more.
Most doctors say that an adult over fifty should get a colonoscopy every five years.

Ross Perot once said:
"It takes five years to design a new car in this country.
Heck, we won World War II in four years."

Another fun quote reads:
“The reason it takes five years to become an architect is,
that it takes that long to become that arrogant.”
-Brenda Vale

Five years is:
The first song on David Bowie's "The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars".

Five years - that's a college career if you didn't study hard enough
(it's six years if you join a fraternity).

It's the duration of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes' marriage.
I'm not quite sure how many Kardashian marriages you can fit into five years.
Singer Eddie Fisher's marriage to Elizabeth Taylor also spanned five years. Yes, it was one of eight marriages, and if you're wondering about the name - Eddie Fisher was also the father of Carrie Fisher (yes, "Princess Leia").

A man in Germany was shot in the back of the head and didn't realize it until five years later.

"The Help", a novel by Kathryn Stockett was written over a five year period (and rejected by over sixty literary agents before someone accepted it. 
Yes, it's the same "The Help" that was made into an oscar nominated movie recently.

Beleive it or not there's a band called "Five Year Mission" - they have set out to write and record one original song inspired by or related to each episode of the original Star Trek TV series.

Ever think of becoming an NFL football referee?
Several current and former NFL officials say it takes five years for an NFL rookie official to get used to the speed, mechanics, and philosophy of officiating at the NFL level.

There's a medical quote that states:
"It takes five years to learn when to operate
and twenty years to learn when not to."

And finally, there's a Danish study that recently determined that 
"Cycling to work can add five years to your life... but only if you pedal hard (and avoid crashing)"

For five years I've been writing here, and for five years many of you have honored me with your time by checking in, reading my rants and musings,
and even offering your thoughts on occasion.

Thanks for reading - it means more to me than you know.

-Greg Mohr