Wayward Soul

I have been climbing along
this sodden pathway at night,
empty and void of all light -
weak earth believed to be strong.

Miles to go and behind,
Miles that stretch like a stream,
Widened by floods of a dream
Lengthened by tears that remind.

Render the person inside,
an image that no one sees:
steel-hearted delicacy
stalwart beauty and bride.

Etched on a wayward soul
the time to begin has come
and after the rain, there's sun;
then, paid in full is your toll.

Another Round

It's been months since I've been on here, and when I left, I wasn't sure if I'd be back. Just goes to show, you never know what life has in store. I realized that I still love to write, and I haven't done a whole lot in the last few months, so, maybe it's time to return to this little blog here to 1) sharpen my skills, 2) have an outlet for all the things I'd like to say, 3) continue with a hobby I enjoy or 4) make a complete arse of myself in the process.

I watched Julie and Julia this weekend, and while, in no way, do I compare my meager offerings to the what Julie Powell accomplished with her blog project, I understand every bit of the frustration she must have felt before and during. My blog isn't a project with any goal, deadline or theme, but it would be nice to be able to shape it into something. Anyway, in my last post, I aired some of my grievances, and I apologize if I offended anyone. Still, they were said in honesty; so, as long as we understand each other, we can be friends.

So...why now? After all this time, why today?
My response: why not?

I just felt like writing, that's all. Sometimes, that's all the reason I need.

A Month and a Day

Oh, blog! I have not abandoned you, much....just giving you a bit of breathing room..yeah, that's it.

In the last month - well, actually since March - I've been increasingly busy at work, which is no excuse, but there it is. I've still been reading my favorite blogs, watching the news, staying up to date on things...so I've had all sorts of jumbling tumbles in my mind of things to blog about.

But, then again, I've been questioning the whole blog thing and whether it's really for me. I've come to the conclusion that it's not. I'm sure that's really no surprise, being that my last post was a month and a day ago, and my existentialist blather brought about exactly zero comments. But that's fine. I wasn't expecting any. I used to fret about that. Why doesn't anyone like me? Why doesn't anyone respond? Is my writing that bad? I re-examined the issue and figure it this way:

• For a good part of my life, I've always been on the outskirts of normalcy and popularity and all that jazz, and I quite rather like it there. There is enormous freedom in it. I don't need thousands of followers to verify me or my writing. So...
  
• Part of being a popular blogger is writing comments on other blogs and that sort of back-and-forth play. I don't really like that. I'm sorry. I know it's against the blogger code. But it's true. A comment I received on one of my latest posts was as transparent as the wind; it had nothing to do with my post - it was virtually online pimping of this person's own blog. If I feel so inclined to comment on your blog, I will. And I would like you to do the same. Don't comment because you expect something in return. And I certainly will not comment because I want anything from you.
  
• I just don't have the time to keep up with my blog. Plain and simple.
  
• Just because everyone's jumping on the bandwagon, does not mean that everyone needs to go along for the ride. I've looked into Twitter (yes, I still have an account but don't live on it, so it's updated even more irregularly than my blog), am on Facebook but am starting to be bored by it, have all but abandoned MySpace, and only go into LinkedIn when I get a request from someone. In other words, I'm in more places in cyberspace than I need to be. Does my blog add anything of value to my life or yours?
  

So, what does this all mean for The Humble Pen? Honestly, I'm not sure. I almost gave up before, took some time off, and regrouped. Now, the luster of blog upkeep is just not...as lustrous to me anymore, although there are certainly enough things to write about that just don't fit within the 140 character limit of Twitter or my status updates on Facebook. So, let's leave it at this for now: This isn't goodbye; it's just Auf Wiedersehen.

Leaving Your Mark (pt 2)

So...to get back to pondering about "leaving your mark"...

Lately, I've been reading one of those thin "Images of America" books from my town's historical society - you know the ones: a sepia photo on the front with lots of black and white photos inside and little tid bits about "what was" compared to "what is now." I love learning the history of people, places and things, especially when it's so close to home - literally. That parking lot? Used to be where the town stables were. That housing development? Used to be verdant fields stretching as far as the eye could see. I don't know any of the people in the photographs, but it doesn't matter.

As I flipped through the pages the other night, my husband commented on the photos and wondered what the "next generation" photo book would show. Years ago, at the end of the 1800s through the early 1900s, photographs were a big deal. The technology was new and exciting. Photos were special treasures. They captured moments in time that gave insight.

Fast forward to 2009. Digital technology is current. Photos on digital cameras and phones, no more film. Kodak has recently discontinued Kodachrome film (even if I still love the Paul Simon song). I actually miss taking my roll of film to be developed, anxiously waiting to receive that small package of processed 4"x6"surprises. I supposed you could still have film developed, and I have to say I'm jealous of those who have their own dark rooms and know how to process film. But...it's 2009. For the casual photo-taker like me, it's point, shoot, look at the playback to decide if it's acceptable, download and share. With the exception of my wedding and honeymoon photos, I haven't had photos printed in years. KodakGallery even threatened to remove our online accounts because we continually uploaded albums online but have not printed in the last 12 months.

So, where does that leave our "next generation" photo book? Some might say, nothing's changed. Technology is better, faster, sharper. We'll always have photos. Maybe. But will future generations get a feeling for how we lived? As evident by the ease of deleting photos, among other things, we have become a disposable society - daresay, a restless society - one that may not value things the same way as earlier generations. What do our photos say about us?

Don't mind me...I'm just feeling a bit nostalgic again. But it's food for thought, don't you think?