This was inevitable.  A few years ago I had a blog.  I loved it.  But as a public official I was self-limited on what I could say in public.  For someone who generates an opinion a minute this discipline was very hard.  I enjoy taking in the world and thinking about what I am seeing and reading.  Probably more than that I enjoy the resulting analysis and synthesis.  And, when I have gone through that process, I want to share.  In my former life that meant you mostly had to be in a room to hear me bloviate on what I think and feel.  Retirement has freed me from that constraint.

I had an epiphany in the shower a couple of weeks ago.  (My old IT staff dreaded it when I told them I had a thought in the shower that morning.)  If I were to publicly participate in any future campaigns, I would still need to be careful about what I wrote.  I realized that was absurd.  Why would I begin a new phase of my life constrained by what I used to do for a living?  So, I made the decision not to be a public participant in future campaigns.  Oh, I will support people and causes, but I won’t put myself in a position to officially speak on behalf of anyone.  It was liberating to realize I was back in control of my opinions.

Writing a blog is a funny experience.  Potentially, anyone in the world can read it.  In reality you are writing for yourself.  I will publish what I write to the little group of family and friends on Facebook.  If anyone wants to share…that’s cool.  I have an ego like everyone else.  But the point of what I want to do here is to force myself to think clearly about the world.  For me writing is the final step in the refining process.  I like to be forced to challenge the randomness of all those tiny electrical currents in my head.

My posts will be random.  I have a list of ideas already.  If I run out of ideas, I will let you know.  I am almost incapable of final proofing my own writing.  My too quick brain just put in what is missing.  So, what is posted is what it is.

Oh and so you don’t think this is an utterly isolating activity, here is what my new staff was doing yesterday.  It’s one view from this keyboard.