Oh, Hi! Didn't See You There.

The text message from my friend hit with the force of a lightning bolt.

If you're no longer blogging (safe to assume) could you at least do Facebook or Twitter so we can see what's up?

Now, we'll be diplomatic and overlook the fact that my friend's own blog lasted approximately two posts, and now looks like this. Because the fact remains that, well, it has been a while. Over 16 months.

16 MONTHS!

A lot can happen in sixteen months:

* America can elect a black man president
* A baseball team from Tampa Bay can win the pennant before the Cubs
* A major motion picture can be released in which Pierce Brosnan sings

These are heady times, to be sure. And not to mention, significant personal life changes can take place, which I'm not going to get into at this juncture. But the point is, a lot of time has gone by, and there is definitely a lot to talk about. But the problem is, who the heck has the time? I don't. I mean, the reason I'm not writing here is largely because of the things that would be most interesting to write about. It is a dilemma.

So, what to do? My friend has made suggestions. However...

I won't Facebook. Don't trust it. More than half the people I work with seem to be on it, and it monopolizes their time, or makes announcements to the world about them which they are not necessarily eager to share, or half a dozen other things that just seem more aggravating than helpful. I know, I am old and curmudgeonly. So be it. I have precious little time as it is, and I will not be tied down to a webpage that demands I update my status.

(Fun fact: this blog engine's spell-checker thinks "Facebook" is misspelled. Ha!)

I also won't Twitter. This seems incomprehensibly stupid to me. It's text messages to the world. Really? Critical need filled? Look, this blog is already about the most navel-gazing thing I could do, and at my peak, I was updating it daily. Is anyone truly clamoring for me to provide new entries by the minute? I can think of no situation in which anybody I know needs to have a blow-by-blow account of anything that I have ever done or will ever do. And if they do, there's probably only one person at a time who needs that information, and I'll call them. Again, the future is not impressing me.

Which brings us back to the blog, which my friend has observed I no longer do. So that's out.

Or is it?

I'm giving me one last shot to make this thing work. I won't lie to you, I'm not optimistic. Life is pretty crazy, and I talk too much. But I've got a lot of things to tell you. Some of it even interesting. Bits and pieces you might actually enjoy.
And besides, as Lyle Lovett said,

Look
I understand too little too late
I realize there are things you say and do
You can never take back
But what would you be if you didn't even try
You have to try

You do, indeed.

So wish me luck. Once more...here we go.