A Quick Read Before You Light Candles and Stuff Your Face!

The problem with having a blog is that there are entirely too many things to blog about. Especially this week, what with Chanukah, Thanksgiving, Thanksgivingnuka (and all the actual mash up names that I don't care to google), my wife's birthday yesterday, not to mention this one died, this one had a baby, Sriracha factory gets shut down but Iran can keep making nuclear weapons… it's all too much for me right now. So instead I’ll make it easier on myself (and you, too, perhaps) by sharing a poem that I wrote the other night. It may or may not have something to do with how I'm feeling, or blogs, or life in general, or nothing at all…

Poem From the Other Night

I'm pretty sure 

that by the time

I finish this 

sentence, there

will be a

catastrophic earthquake 

and everything 

that can topple 

in my apartment 

will do just that

and everything 

breakable 

will surely shatter; 

whatever can be saved

shall be considered gained,

every book and knickknack

will flee from its shelf,

every cabinet 

will betray its contents 

like all too eager 

floodgates offering

my wares to the 

world, saying, "Here! this

is what he has to offer!

all that was once kept safe

inside is now scattered about

for you to do with what 

you will, nothing 

has been spared,

everything has been set free,

ready to be sifted through,

trashed or possibly cherished,

so thank you, world, for always 

shaking things up

when we need it most

and expect it least,

but please, spare

us from the flood

that is sure to follow.”

Thanks for coming back, folks! Until next week’s postella, please remember to drive - and chew - carefully over the holiday. Happy Thanksgivukkah! (yes, I caved)

My First Blog Post!* (*This is my second blog post, which is about my first blog post, posted last week)

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single stepella"

When I started writing last week's post, I truly didn't know what I was doing. I didn't even know if I was going to post what I had written - a bunch of weird questions - or if anyone was gong to read it. (I am leaving that "gong' typo in because it felt appropriate given the Lao-tzu quote above.) And yet thus far 140+ people have viewed my first blog post. That is astounding to me. Even if, say, 20 of those views were my own, and one was my mom's, that still means that 100+ people ventured to look at it. Of those 100, I'd like to believe that half read the whole thing, and of those, I'd like to believe that half actually enjoyed reading it.

So, while last Monday was like any other, whereby I sat at my desk and wrote stuff, as I always do, on that particular Monday I wrote stuff that maybe as many as 25 people enjoyed. That is an unusual feeling of validation and instant-ish gratification that, as a writer, I don't often feel - or should I say, I don't feel often enough. Is there a difference? I don't know. No time to think about it! Moving on... What you anonymous 25 have done has inspired me to write more blog stuff - for better or worse - so, thanks!

On the flip side, the 25 likers also created a bit of a dilemma for me. My first entry was a very spur of the moment thing - a true "ready, fire, aim" situation - and throughout the week afterward I was stricken with (stricken with? Sure why not...) one question: "What next?" Well, after nearly getting some form of blog-writer's-block, I am posting this - whatever this is, a soapbox rant of sorts - in order to move through that block. Now that this entry is all but done I am already feeling better, and eager to write my actual second post, which will actually be my third post... and kind of my first.

If you enjoyed reading this "postella" or the other one, or felt either was anything more than "meh," then I'd encourage you, kind reader, to please read the next one(s). I think I have enabled the ability for you to become a subscriber. My wife said I should only post one entry a week, so, until then... Ciao for now. I promise my next entry - and this blog for that matter - will be about something. Actually, no, no I do not. But please read it anyway?

First Post + Questions

Hello? Can anybody hear me? This is my first blog post. Feels like I am whispering into a dark cave, asking if the bear cub can come out and play. So... what now? Another metaphor, of course... I feel like I'm being drawn into a light, like the moth... or the opposite it of a moth, seduced by darkness...

Have you ever gone on a long walk with no real destination, but secretly hoped that walk would change your life forever? Have you ever ridden a bike in the rain, and later felt proud of the stains on your back from the dirty water spraying off your rear tire? Have you ever asked a stranger to dance, and been surprised by how quickly they said yes? Have you eaten breakfast yet? Are you health conscious? Is time wasted a concern of yours? Are you a cat person? A people person? A decent person? How do you know? Is asking questions a good way to start a blog? Can we change the word "blog" to something else now? Something more classic and elegant sounding, like... "postella?" What's more disgraceful, hating what you do, or hating what you dream? If you are a reasonable person, what would someone with your exact experiences who is NOT reasonable be like? Or for that matter, someone more reasonable than yourself - with your exact experiences - would react to certain situations how?

Have you had enough yet? Will you ever read another postella post of mine? Will my grandchildren read this and wonder about me? Admire me? Mock me? Might it round out their minimal knowledge of their dear old grandad, now long gone, and give some insight into who he really was and what made him tick? Will they give a shit either way? Will they have flying cars, and what will they call road rage?

Kind and gentle reader, please feel free to answer any of these questions... or ask a few of your own in the provided comment section, whenever you may stumble upon it. Thanks for reading this. In closing, I'd like to concede that I used to not be a cat person - I was only a dog person - but now that I have had a cat for over a year, I am both a cat person and a dog person, though I do not currently have a dog. Until next time...