Another Year Older

More people are reminding me that today is my birthday. I don’t make a big deal about celebrations anymore. As I get older I can understand better how reflecting on life can be so satisfying.

It was back in February 1985 I first began to seriously journal the day to day events in my life. I think I was inspired by the book “The Children of Pride, a true story of Georgia and the Civil War” by Robert Manson Myers. This book was complied from the letters of the Jones family where they chronicled their everyday life.

A trip to Rochester with my friend Don resulted in such a bizarre chain of events I had to record the day. That led to nearly 10 years of paper journals recording my everyday life.

Working production as a “shop rat” on the GM factory floor was a mind numbing existence. Every work day I was in contact with people whose only claim they existed was the work they accomplished at the plant. They had no outside life. I realized early on to keep my work and personal life separate and pretty much private. Most of my co-workers could not comprehend my life when I would share bits and pieces with them.

In 2001 I was introduced to a journal site where I could keep an on-line journal. Once again I began to document my everyday life. This time there was a twist: being in cyberspace meant others had access to read my writing and interact with me. For the most part I stay away from politics and religion and try to keep my rants to a minimum. My journal there has some 1,207 entries. I can spend hours reading back and reliving those recorded days.

It was through writing that journal I gained the confidence to attend college for the first time back in 2003 when the opportunity arose.

It was over a year ago I got sucked into Facebook and I started an E-blogger account to share selected journal entries on my page. This is frightening in a way as my private journal is not Google searchable, where-by the E-blogger account is. The first time I had an entry appear in a top ten search when doing a Google search for “fire hydrants” kind of unnerved me! That kind of explains how off the wall my life is…I’m not changing….(as if I could!)

Reflecting back on time and my life I reach into the past to a “theme entry” from my early days of internet journaling. I like to think my writing style has improved since I first posted this nine years ago. My thoughts are still the same …..

Time-The Theme of the Week

Friday, February 09, 2001

Time is a gift we are given at birth. How we use it is our choice. It can be a curse or the greatest gift we can be given. I personally do not regret the passing of time, and the inevitable aging. The end result is the same for us all no matter what. Ten years ago was a watershed in my life. It seemed that the AIDS epidemic had reached it peak. Every other week there was a funeral, memorial service, or news of a death. There was a list I kept of friends who succumbed to the virus. When the list got to about 50 names, I could not add to it any more. It just hurt too much to look at it. I saw so much courage and bravery in those dying people. Through them I learned what was really important in life. Believe me it is not driving a fancy car, or living in a fancy house.

There was a popular humorist at the turn of the century, Cal Stewart. He went by the name Uncle Josh. He was the rube who was always getting in over his head in the big city. In an interview he gave those many years ago he stated, “When I get to the pearly gates and meet Saint Peter, I want to be remembered by the laughs I gave to people rather than the heartaches." That is pretty much how I try to live my life.