On writing

and why it is necessary right now

Writing. It's something I do. It is not who I am.

For nearly three decades now, I've moved in circles where people want to identify as "writers." Better than identifying as a host of other things, I guess.

In this larger realm of wannabe writers, while pretty much all of them think about it, most never write a word. Certainly nothing gets published by the good lot of them.

I was among the pretenders for a while. But one day—I can't even begin to remember my motivation—I started blogging. I was consistent about it. A few people tuned in. I couldn't figure out how to do anything more than entertain and inform a small group of people. So I eventually just stopped.

Meanwhile, I had a couple short-lived journalism gigs. Other people discovered me, I guess, but more importantly, people found out that they could depend on someone to report the news, not the propaganda. Unfortunately, those jobs didn't last long (for many reasons well outside my control).

On occasion, I'd write letters to the edit…