When Ian W. Brown retired in June of 2020, the Covid 19 pandemic was running rampant. The isolation that resulted from abrupt social distancing provided him with ample time to contemplate a life of doing archaeology in an academic setting, and how this came to pass. In sixteen essays he muses upon growing up in the late 20th century, touching upon subjects as wide ranging as "Home (A Short Story)," "Early Work," "Confessions of a Book Buyer," "Academia (I never Planned to be a College Professor)," "Games and Sports, a Preparation for Life)," "Life's Incidentals: The Drive-In Theater, The Circus, and the Fair," "The Point of Dancing," "What Do I Believe?" and many more, ending with his personal assessment of "2020-The Year of the Pandemic."