Writing

 One thing about retirement, no matter how hard you try or don't try to fill the minutes, you are going to have some down time.  That is just a given.  Having spare time can be a blessing, time to sit back and enjoy the fruits of your labor, to do exactly what you want to do, when you want to do it, or it can be a curse.  You've heard the saying; idle hands are the devil's workshop.

Fortunately, M and I have been blessed in our retirement.  We are both involved in church activities, she, more than I, and we have both developed hobbies.  She has discovered quilting, and loves having the freedom to spend a lot of time in the kitchen, which I am a frequent recipient of.  I meanwhile have dived headfirst into genealogy research (go ahead, ask me how many Presidents I am related to), increased my number of rotisserie baseball teams, spend time in the garden, and started a blog.  It is the latter item I wish to visit today.

I love to write; I have always loved to write.  Writing has pretty much always been incredibly easy for me, which I know is a gift that many have.  I know I am blessed in that regard.  I enjoyed writing for the Pepper Box, the official paper of Ritenour High School in suburban St. Louis and loved my 14 years with the Pocahontas (AR) Star-Herald.   But over the past few years, since I left the Star Herald, I haven't done any writing to speak of.  Just a few newsletters for Rotary and church, that's about all.  It has taken me awhile to realize just how much I missed it.  

At the Star Herald, for the most part, I was the only full-time reporter.  Others, mainly Susan Thielemier Johnson and my boss/editor, Anita Murphy, also did some writing.  But Susan was the sales manager, and did a lot of writing, certainly more than me for our monthly social magazine, and Anita was up to her eyeballs in being boss and editor.  So that left Dalton to do the bulk of the writing for the paper, a weekly that came out on Wednesday evening, fell in my lap, and I didn't mind at all.

On an average week, I would have five or six stories for the front page, and on average, counting news, sports, agri, school stuff, features, I would write 7,000 to 8,000 words.  It was not every week but not uncommon for me to have written every word on the front page.  Like I said, I loved to write.

I thought I was burned out when I left, and I guess after 14 years I was.  But over time I realized, especially in the last year or so, that it was not the writing I was getting tired of, it was the routine, the time in the office, the endless meetings that needed covering, the sports events to cover and take pics of. 

As I previously mentioned, I really started missing writing, not the day-to-day routine, but writing just for the sake of writing.  With the encouragement of my retired English-teaching wife, this blog was born.   It gave me an outlet, as I can write when I want, and about what I want.  It was a win-win situation for me.

I post a link of my FB page, and text a link to a number of friends so if they so choose, they can just click and read.  And the readership certainly varies.  A couple of blogs have had over 100 views, while others as few as 23.  You just never know, well that is not exactly true, I kind of do.  The blogs that have been read the most are about politics and my thoughts on church and scripture.  My blog earlier this week, on what I would do if I were baseball commissioner, had less than 30 reads.  That surprised me, but then, maybe it shouldn't have.  But that's ok, I'm not writing for notoriety, or applause, or money, I'm just writing because I want to write.

Writing is very therapeutic.  I enjoy typing away and pausing, trying to think or that exact word or phrase I want to use.   I have written a few blogs, two or three, that after I finished them, and read them a couple of times, I thought, "this is crap," and promptly erased them, never to be seen again.  There have been some, when finished, I have thought, "that's not too bad."  But for the most part, I let you be the judge on what is good and what isn't.  

I love the feedback, I wish there were more, and honestly, even if you disagree on a point or two, or an entire blog, the dialogue, the point-counterpoint, that response is encouraging.  As far as I know, I haven't lost any friends over anything I have written.  The point being, after a blog, no matter what the reaction, I always feel good, I feel that I have satisfied my creative urge to communicate, that I have accomplished something.

So I guess I will continue to sit down at the keyboard two or three times a week and bang out whatever is in my mind and comes out my fingers.  You really have no idea how much it pleases me, and if you think it is good, feel free to forward it to your friends and family.  If you think it's garbage, let me know that as well.  After reflection, I just might agree with you.

Have a wonderful rest of your weekend.  Thanks for spending time with me and be kind to each other.