Starting Anew -- Why am I doing this?

Blogging? What a crock! Why in the world would someone think that there were others out there who gave a damn about what they thought. I mean, really ... what a self-inflated crock o' crap. Why would some bonehead in the northwoods of Louisiana think I cared about what they had to say? Then again, I guess they wouldn't expect me to read their blog.

But here I am anyway -- blogging away on a dreary Saturday afternoon. Frankly, I don't think anyone will ever read this. It's not about others finding out what I think. I don't really care if they know. It's more about me writing for the sake of creatively exercising my brain. If my friends want to read this, they can. If my family wants to read it, they'll be able to.

I can't remember when the idea of being an essayist first came to me. I think it was when I was living in Nebraska and I wrote a commentary that was eventually published published in Nebraska Life Magazine. I like writing. I've written articles about historic events for magazines and articles for kids magazines. I've written countless grants (I am, after all, a "grant writer"). But I've never written an essay -- a strictly comic observation just for the sake of getting it out. I think I'd like to try.

So, here I am. Let's see how it goes.