Toe in the water

Six years ago, I pronounced that I was done learning new technology and that I had adopted the pose of a Luddite.  This was, in part, a reaction to the IT elves insisting on a complete retooling of the office software (where's the freakin' sort button?) and, in a larger part, to denying life's forward progress.

Forward can be scary;  if you don't understand forward.

From the perspective of those days, forward meant aging, loss, disappointment, discomfort, change, dismay.  Forward meant losing what seemed happy, warm and safe.

I pause - I promised myself that this blog adventure wouldn't be full of maudlin introspective crap. . .looks dangerously headed that way.

Let me tell you about Shakespeare.  Maybe you met him; if not, you would have liked him.  Big dopey black lab who would fetch the remote, pounce on a dropped ice cube, greet each friend as the most wonderful part of his life, greet each stranger as the most wonderful part of his life. I got to share 14+ years with him and smile with every memory.  The blog isn't about him, but he did inspire the blog's name:  Thoughts from Blackdog Bog. 

The Bog is actually 16 acres of of a small farm I'm blessed to occupy just west of Ann Arbor, Michigan.  The 46-acre farm features moderately rolling topography, three ponds, wildflowers, rotated crops, and lots of laughter.  Since moving here in 1999, I estimate that I've had over 2,000 guests. . .yes, some repeats in there, but isn't that a good sign?

So, back to being a Luddite.  Never intended to be a blogger. . . the idea that my observations on life could be of any interest to others seemed a bit egotistical if not ridiculous.  However, after receiving some positive feedback from notes and quips on Facebook - and being ringmaster to a few Haiku-a-thons - I figure that putting some ideas forward (gasp, that word!) might provide a small service to some, a moderate service to a few, and a generally positive service to myself.  I will not, however, subscribe to the Twitter phenomenon - something I see as hourly updates on banal activities by those genuinely interested in being the center of the universe.

I just like living in the center of the farm.