Well Will ya Look At THAT....
It is hard to believe that THIS post is my 1200th...!
I mean one would "think" that I'd run out of stuff to say by now...LOL.
Not hardly.
I haven't even scratched the surface.
What is amazing is that events in the world, around the nation and even on my own frigging street in the ghettohood continue to fuel the fire, as it were.
If a lot more folks got THEIR collective sh*t together, I'd have to really look HARD to find something to post about.
Instead, I have to pick and choose my topics from ALL the crap that's floating around us.
And believe it or not...there ARE times where the majority of what I bring you is GOOD stuff (gardening, critter pics, cars, guns, and other fun things).
Conversely, we've still too much of the BAD stuff that needs to be discussed, and perhaps expunged from our lives, as well as this nation's future.
There was a time when I worried about WHAT to chat about here.
Not anymore.
Got PLENTY to rant, rave, bitch, piss, moan, and gripe about...(don't a lot of us?), and all that I attempt to do here is simply put a level of "tangibility" upon those things YOU, the reader are probably already thinking.
If, after reading a post, you find yourself nodding at your computer, saying "I was just thinking that myself", then I've done my job.
Or perhaps, you have had your eyes opened a bit farther, as I have on MANY other blogs written by some fantastic people.
I like to think of blogging as a bunch of townsfolk sitting on the porch of some general store, thinking and talking about what's going on.
We stop on by to see what's happening, and often leave better informed, more amused, or even enlightened.
I know I have most every day since my first post.
Sometimes, all of us together, can reason through whatever might be on our minds.
Other times, we're just "there" for one another. We come from diverse backgrounds, and from cities and towns plastered all over this great country, and yet, we DO share a commonality...a sense of pride in this nation...call it the American Spirit.
We remember vividly how we were brought up; the values instilled in us and how we grew into our own sense of selves.
And we try to pass that on to our future generations.
One thing that we could always rely on was our parents (and once upon a time, the local newspapers as well...lol).
As adults, we have learned that SELF-RELIANCE gets the job done these days.
And whatever news is available can often obfuscate the truth.
That, many times, is where "we" come in.
What people often lack these days is that voice of reason...the one "crying in the wilderness" to use a Biblical analogy.
Again, that is where WE come in...all of us who blog or at least take time to comment.
That's how I got started here. I commented on other blogs.
Then, I was told (obviously by someone wiser than I) that "you should create your OWN blog"...!?!
I figured "Who in their right mind would listen to some (near middle-age) guy formerly from the City of Brotherly Love, now living in the Heartland of America, who's seen BOTH sides of the tracks from each side"?
Apparently, a LOT of you.
So that means either you're curious, or wish to become a better person today than you were the day before (as I try to do), or you're all just as wacky as I am (must have been all those Loonie Toons as kids that did it), and want to embrace that wackiness...LOL.
Hey, whatever floats your boat.
If I had an underlying REASON for WHY I blog, it would NOT be because "I have nothing better to do"...there is ALWAYS something that needs being done..and doing nothing isn't on my radar (I'm reserving THAT for the long "dirt nap"). I blog because I want to. I have to.
I mean it's not exactly like that Harlan Ellison short story "I have No Mouth and I Must Scream", but it comes fairly close.
We all have MINDS...therefore we SHOULD be able to THINK and eventually MOUTH OFF about anything that is ON those minds of ours, right?
Personal LIBERTY and FREEDOM demand as much from every one of us.
It's when we remain silent that the trouble starts.
If we don't speak our mind, not only do others never know what we're thinking, but also we become a lot more troubled, because we internalize things...and that's never been good for anyone physically, emotionally, OR mentally.
So...we BLOG...or COMMENT.
We all have something to say, and regardless of how many may think it nonsensical for us to say it, if we LISTEN instead of merely hear what's being said, we CAN learn from the experience.
Some of the best advice (to others) comes from our OWN mouths (or keyboards), and all too often, we don't even listen to ourselves.
Again, THIS venue (blogging) is a perfect way to start that listening process.
It's taken 1200 posts to get THIS far, and I know I've farther yet to travel.
The really cool thing about the rest of the journey, is that I've got readers and fellow bloggers such as YOURSELVES to share this experience with.
I could never imagine such a wonderful way to go through life in my wildest dreams.
I truly have to thank you all for your gracious attention, your thought-provoking and often insightful comments, and the ability to see myself a bit more clearly through all of you.
My only hope is that this small "signpost" in YOUR journey...this corner of the blogosphere, will continue to inspire, instruct, promote dialog, pursue reason based in truth, and instill that sense of worth to all of us.
And as long as the world continues to turn, there shall be things that need discussion...and opinion...and problem-solving.
That's where "we" come in...again.
All of us, together.
So, here's to this "mile marker" with the hope that there's still a tank full of time left to say what needs to be said...good, bad or indifferent.
I promise to not waste your time in the process.
Be well, make a difference to someone, and...
Stay safe out there, America.