May you live in interesting times

Well, here I am. I am a blogger.

I've always been enamored of diaries. I've kept one on and off since I was old enough to write a coherent sentence. And I still have all of them. Reading some of the really old ones would be entertaining if I didn't know the writer of all that giggly trash is me.

I think one of the things that fascinated me about diaries originally was the nifty books you got to write them in. Beautiful things with leather bindings and little brass locks with even smaller brass keys. It was all very clandestine and romantic. A collection of hidden thoughts and secret dreams.

And now I'm at it again. In a public way. Or possibly public. I'd be surprised if anyone reads this. At least I won't subject you to any ramblings about JM (the boy I had a terrible crush on all through high school).

I'm not sure that a blog is quite the same thing as a diary. I have to believe that most people will temper what they write in a blog - knowing that it's highly likely someone will stumble across it while surfing and read what has been written there. Not as bad as having your brother steal it from between the mattress and box spring, but potentially embarrassing just the same.

I know I'll be keeping this PG rated (more or less) and I'm not going to post anything I wouldn't want my mother to read. Or my best friend. Or a complete stranger.

I am amazed at the length and quality of some of the blogs I've read. Do people really think all those lofty thoughts? I suppose they must, of course. They couldn't very well write them without thinking them first. Still, it speaks to the inate creativity that lurks in the average person. And the sheer, blind luck (as opposed to any significantly greater talent) that creates a Shakespeare or a Whitman or a Dylan. Were these writers really so much more talented than the rest of us, or did they simply get lucky enough to be published and recognized?

Uh-oh. I better keep that thought under wraps. It could lead to another reality show: America's Next Author!