First Post

As the "Order of Battle" above states, "this is a place to share thoughts about faith, family, country, culture, the past, the future, and all that we care deeply about." For many years, I've wanted to set such thoughts of my own down in a durable and organized medium, through which I could communicate to my family and friends--even after I was gone from this earth--my core beliefs, best ideas, instructive experiences, deepest concerns, strongest passions, and fondest hopes for all living Here and There. I originally thought to write all this down by hand in a tabbed notebook or journal, and was even given one for this purpose several years ago by my wife and children. But for various reasons--mostly inability to "pull the trigger," as well as concern about my sloppy writing and disjointed thinking--I never got started. Moreover, a journal is a thing notoriously easy to lose or be destroyed, and in any event, can only be read by one person at a time after the writer has relinquished possession of it. Nevertheless, my brain didn't stop boiling over with thoughts, feelings, and ideas which, until now, I've shared pretty much only with myself. I reached the breaking point during the recent Presidential campaign, when I felt so passionately about the choices before us but had nowhere to speak but into my friends' ears, or on the Comments pages to Internet articles, where my posts would be buried among thousands of others in a matter of minutes. Only after the election did it dawn on me that I could establish my own forum, in which matters important to me could be shared in a thoughtful way, without being drowned out by the anonymous horde. Thus, with some inspiration and the encouragement of my sister, who maintains a delightful blog of her own, this site was born. Whether it will prove "durable and organized" enough to be an effective teaching tool for my posterity remains to be seen, but I'm eager to try it. Please join me!