Pappy's Balderdash: Blogging 101

I was up last night trying to imagine how many people were up and trying to come up with something amusing to put on their blogs. I have been blogging for four months now and I'm writing the freshman course, Blogging 101, for your edification. There are no warning labels posted before you click on that "Create Blog" button at the top of the page. No statements about addiction, life consuming passion, strange new friends, or memes. Someone probably talked you into trying it - I think it's time to try and remember who that was and have a serious talk with them. Do you ever feel overexposed? I'm no photographer, but I'm sitting on top of the send button so my Sky Watch Friday post gets a first read on the other side of the world on what's left of Thursday on my side of the world. I'm looking for things colored yellow, or green to photograph, or something so spectacular it needs no comments. What's up with all this stuff. I now feel some obligation to people who, like me, are becoming an office fixtures.

I feel I must perform. Women from all over the world are telling me how to dress and what they would like for me to write. Their husbands drop by from time to time to see if I am actually doing it. My wife said I should be used to it by this stage of my life, having benefited from the influence of a mother, wife and two daughters. I think it just may be the volume of information on what I should do every waking minute of my life that has my processor working overtime. People visit and leave comments and I have tried to make it a practice to answer as many as possible. That was no chore when only two people a day stopped by, but now I running out of witty remarks. I also try and visit the blogs of those who faithfully respond to mine, but there are so many, I can't spend much time there so I'm sure I'm missing some good stuff. It's similar to cell phone usage - A great idea that has spun out of control.

I'm seriously thinking of just getting on my yacht and saying bon voyage. However, I know I would worry. When people don't post for a day or two I wonder what terrible things might be happening in their lives. I don't even know them. Their profile photos are cartoons, shadowed eyeballs, feet, animals, or landscapes. How can anyone become attached to that? I don't know where they're from. They leave cryptic clues like, Canada, East Texas, Somewhere, WA, and places I've never heard of. Some don't even blog in English - what's up with that? Some challenge my political views and a few staunch Democrats won't admit they are coming by anymore. It is an unexplainable compulsion, this blogging phenomenon. If you have written Blogging 201, I would appreciate a copy. When I go on vacation in a few weeks I'm going to try and go "Cold Turkey". I'll let you know the side effects when I return.