I've managed to slide by without anyone being aware I haven't posted anything for awhile...well almost no one. Since I now have a few spare moments, a wife sitting directly behind me, and a new found desire to blog...I blog.
       Blog...now there is a word Mr Webster and several others missed. To me it appears to be closely related to bog(wet, spongy,poorly drained and normally acid ground) and in my humble opinion is just about as useful. I of course am aware that there are a few uses for a bog: they're a convenient dumping ground for homicide victims, can be a fuel source under the right conditions, and of course a great place for children to take a stroll as mom cleans the floors of their homes.
       I've come to understand the fascination man has with bogs and blogs. Ego and blogs seem to go hand and hand at times. But of even greater consequence is the fact that bogs and blogs have far more in common than one might think. 
       As an example...lets consider the importance of this blog site so far. I've blogged about being "encouraged" to blog and only those involved in the decision to have me blog will really care. In another blog I related an encounter with a book reviewer....which unfortunately they'll never read . I've also talked about motorcycle rides (always a good thing) which none of the folks who read this took.. Now here's where ego, bogs and blogs all have one very important element in common as I see it, they are personal. Having said that, a reader must find a thread of common interest in a blog or it becomes just another ego filled bog.
       Who cares what I've got to say about this or that major,minor, or unnoticed event in my life, for the most part strangers will view them in much the same way as a bog...and for the most part they'll stay out of the mud. By that I mean it's an event which happened, didn't affect anyone not involved, and will normally be ignored unless it stimulates, amuses or angers the reader. 
     Now I must admit I've found it far easier to anger folks who read my junk than to amuse or stimulate anyone. There have been times when I felt like I'd strolled through a blog and tracked up a reader's kitchen floor. They of course feel compelled to point out the muddy tracks I've left on their once pristine (at least that's they way they view it) life and I on the other hand have just enough ego not to care about their view of my life...so we are at an impasse.
      I remember a time when if you felt the need to point out the muddy tracks left on the floor...it was done face to face. I remember a time when if you liked what someone has done you told them. I also remember a time when people meant what they said. 
      I've been in that bog writers sometimes find themselves in when total strangers ask you to approve or like or "give a review" for something you haven't seen or wouldn't read because it's not your cup of tea. If you say thank you, but no thank you...you've just muddied up their pristine kitchen floor...by leaving muddy tracks on their egos. If you lie and say you like something you've never or would never view...you're just a liar in the bog getting ready to track mud. So maybe the best  blog of all are the comments left by strangers who don't know is, but do like what they see...even if it's a little bit of a bog.