Writing for Writing's Sake

My dad died over ten years ago, but I think of him often. Several days ago I explained to my wife Jan how similar dad and I were when it came to our views on people. He had a terrible memory, not a good trait for a newspaper man, but he loved people. It didn't matter who you were, he was interested in hearing your story. The crazier the character, the more he liked them, whether he had anything in common with them or not. He loved to listen and spent little time talking about himself. One of the places he did occasionally share his thoughts was in his weekly column.

When I was a teenager, he once asked me if I read it. I told him coyly that I did "when I had the time." He was amazed that someone so close to him could have so little interest in what he had to say, so little curiosity about discovering his insights on things. He was offended and I felt bad.

That is were the similarities end for my dad and me. I may not be much good at it, but I love to write. But when someone I consider a close friend recently told me she hadn't gotten around to reading my blog for a couple of months, I took no offense. That is because I realize that when a person writes something, we see it as a personal part of ourselves. We place way more importance on it than we really should. And for the most part, it is usually just a bunch of drivel anyway.

I read something somewhere that during a typical conversation, people don't really listen. They spend the time they are not talking planning what they are going to say next. That means that the person talking really isn't being listened to. I suspect that is true of all forms of communication.

So to the six of you who actually read this on a regular basis, I hope you enjoy it, get something out of it, and maybe learn and laugh a bit, too. But I take no offense if you are daydreaming about what you are going to say at the big meeting you have today while you are reading this. We all have our own thoughts to deal with.