The Live Version

More than once in the last few weeks I've started to tell someone a story and they stopped me with "Oh yeah, I saw that on your blog."

Wow.

You know that Bugs Bunny cartoon with Gossamer where at the end Bugs asks Gossamer (in dramatic horror movie narrator voice, naturally) if he ever had the feeling that he was being watched, that hundreds of eyes were on him, look, out there in the audience and Gossamer yells "PEOPLE!" and runs in terror?

Well, I don't feel that way at all.

In fact it's interesting (and make no mistake, flattering) to me that anyone would drop by here on any kind of a regular basis. I started doing this because I realized that somewhere in the 18 years since I left college I lost the ability to write and I wanted it back. Not that I was ever the mostest super-duper writer there ever was but I was OK-ish. What I wanted now a place to practice writing again but it couldn't be some journal or notebook or something that nobody would ever see. I wanted to put it out somewhere where there was a real danger that someone might read it. Fortunately, I live in the 21st century, an era awash in self-important people just like me who need to put their deep thoughts out for public consumption and the technology exists for such a thing to be done. So here we are on good ol'Blogger, part of the Google Empire.

The first time someone said they'd already read a story here I was somewhat taken aback. However, I know what I have to do. I'll have to make the in-person versions of the stories different that the stories I tell on here. So never fear, friends, if I start to tell you one you've read here. Just tell me you read it and I promise I'll throw in some detail not in the "studio" version (or take some out) or add some embellishment, digression, or atmospheric touches. I do go by the credo that I try not to let the facts of the matter get in the way of a good story and before anyone goes all "Million Little Pieces" on me allow me to note that I never said this blog was a memoir or a journal of fact. Actually, I never said this blog was anything but the product of some middle aged guy trying to teach himself to write reel good.

In the meantime, thanks for stopping by and I hope you're enjoying my mindless self indulgence.

Oh yeah, don't forget to vote!