Welcome! And what shall we discuss today . . .?

Just a short note to say hello and welcome you to this little corner of the Internet.

I love to read, and I love to write.  I seem to live for sensory input - why, I can't even go sit down in Dunkin' Donuts and enjoy a cuppa without having something to read - thank goodness for newspaper machines!

Actually, I usually carry a sudoku book in my car so that I can work on a puzzle while eating.  I'm getting most of my news nowadays from the internet, with a smattering from more traditional outlets, primarily radio.  I try to keep the television turned off because even if it's just tuned to the news, it winds up attracting and distracting me, and I'm learning that life's far too short to lose any of it tied to the idiot box.

I never understood why it was a curse, "May you live in interesting times."  I think all times have been interesting at least since the discovery and colonization of the New World.  Our times today are intensely interesting, and here in the United States, the changes we're going through while we struggle to maintain our position as leader of the free world ensure that life is never boring!

Living in the Atlanta metro area, I hear a great deal of the regional Big Four: Neal Boortz, Clark Howard, Sean Hannity and Herman Cain.  Sometimes I'll listen to Michael Savage in the evenings - he's a smart and clever man, but when he goes off on politics and political issues, he sometimes gets to be too full of himself and I'll turn him off.

Don't misunderstand - there's no way you could call me a conservative, although I have a number of libertarian beliefs.  I just think it's important to hear what the other side (the cons) are saying.  And I've got a friend who listens to Sean Hannity on the ride home because, as he puts it, "the man makes my blood boil, but at least I won't fall asleep driving home!"

There are a number of things I want to share here.  Obviously, the pressing issues that face our nation demand comment because it's our responsibility as citizens to participate, and vigorously, in the ongoing national debate.  But there are many other things about life that make it worth living and those things deserve attention as well, things like cooking and eating, reading, fishing and canoeing . . . and trying to shape the world while raising children in it.

I love life, and I love where we're living, even as much as I love the town I grewup in for a while (New York City).  I love Pennsylvania, where I went to high school, and Connecticut, where I attended college.  I've been blessed to visit more than forty states in the course of my life, to see their sights and meet their people, and I know that there's more than enough beauty and greatness there to keep a sould busy without ever setting foot beyond our nation's borders.

Thanks for your kind attention.  I hope that over time I can provide a thought-provoking blog here that'll encourage you to visit often and share your thoughts.