The blessings of the blog

My blog has enriched my life in so many ways.  At the most obvious level, of course, it’s allowed me to engage in all the political discourse that would be inappropriate in my normal, suburban mom life.  Aside from the fact that I live in a liberal enclave, which makes political discussions very fraught, the fact is that most people with whom I live are not political animals.  Sure, they’ll trot off and cast their reliably Democrat vote every two years, but they don’t really care, and they’re not very informed.  Their lives, like mine, are bounded by domesticity:  kids, household, keeping a roof over their head, etc.  That a sound political structure must underlie their goals doesn’t seem to occur to them.  They are disengaged.  So be it.  I’ve got my blog.

The blog has introduced me to you, my regular readers.  I don’t think any of you quite appreciate how much I enjoy having you in my life.  You’re like the scintillating conversation every verbal person always dreams of.  I can look to you for insights, information, jokes . . . you name it.  As I’ve written before, you’ve helped me create my own personal equivalent of the 18th Century salon, and for that I thank you very much.

The blog also allowed SJBill to find me, and it was he who introduced me to the Navy League.  As I’ve been at no pains to disguise, the Navy League is one of the great pleasures of my life.  Every fall, like clockwork, representatives of the Navy treat me like a very special person.  For a small fee and a lot of cheering on my part, I get to peer into a unique and very honorable way of life, all the while having them thank me!  It’s a pretty good deal.  I’ve likened it to the E ticket ride at Disneyland (for those too young to recognize what an E ticket is, this will help), but it’s really far better than that, because it’s much more meaningful.  (By the way, it’s been pretty great to get to know SJBill and his family too.  You’d be hard-put to find a nicer group of people.)

Lastly, the blog has allowed me, on rare and wonderful occasions, to meet some of my blog friends in the flesh (as was the case with SFBill and Co.).  I have to say, I’ve never been disappointed.  That’s important, because there always is a little worry that, despite liking someone tremendously in cyberspace, an actual meeting might be a let-down.  So far, no one has let me down.  Yesterday was a case in point, because I had lunch with a blog friend I’d met once at a bloggers’ party, about three years ago.  I’d remembered him from that brief meeting as absolutely charming, and my memory served me well.

Michael Phillips blogs at Pro Commerce, a blog that touches upon commerce and so much more.  If you read Michael’s blog, you come away with the impression that you are in the presence of a Renaissance man.  And if you meet Michael, you know this impression to be true.  Michael is vastly well-informed and, much more importantly, blessed with an innate joy.  The French expression joie de vivre perfectly sums up Michael’s approach to life.  He observes everything with an objective, but always enthusiastic, and very humanistic, eye.  A face-to-face with him is a revitalizing experience.

So my blog is, truly, one of the blessings in my life.  I bloviate, and good things — and good people — come my way.