Why Does He Have a Blog?

You know people talk about you behind your back.

Well, I know it.

But it's when I hear it that I officially get put off.

So it once got back to me that someone asked, mockingly, about why I have a blog.

OK, so let's dig into it.

The short answer is that this was not meant to be some ego-driven narcissistic mess. That being said, it was definitely meant to be an outlet for me.

The first, and simplest reason, was that I wanted to try my hand at writing. I'd always had the voice of a college professor in my head from when I was a freshman at Westchester Community College. She had been impressed by my work in English 101 and thought I'd make a good tutor.

As has often been the case with me, I simply had too much going on to do that but it also begged the question ... 

"You think I'm a good writer? You're not confusing me with someone else?"

So that's item number one: I like to write and always wanted to try it. I'd long admired the work of writers like Mike Lupica and others and thought I'd like to use my voice in a different way.

Beyond that, I'm a storyteller. That's what a play-by-play announcer is. At least, the ones that I like are storytellers.

Incidentally, the Yankees are playing the Dodgers this weekend and something is definitely missing. Of course, Vin had retired in 2016 but he would still come around and visit Dodger Stadium for certain games. I feel like we might have seen him but, alas, the GOAT is no longer with us of course.

So, yes, storytelling. It's been fun to dig into things all around my world. I never wanted the blog to be single-minded. I didn't want to just tell sports stories. I hoped to show that I was more than a one-trick pony. 

That meant talking music and travel and my love of roads and living honestly. You learned about love and loss and hurt and anger and triumph.

Sometimes I also wanted to use it as an outlet to scream into the void.

I hoped the blog would find an audience and become a place where we could have respectful conversations.

To that end, I've taken the slings and arrows when necessary but, overall, the comments have been pleasant.

When I began, blogs were pretty common. But I also knew that many ended almost as quickly as they started. 

I didn't want to be like that.

Still, I was at the end about 12 years in when I took one last shot at writing more consistently. This time, it worked and we're still here.

One other thing to note: blog writing can be free. And, thus, via both Blogger and WordPress, I've had a home that didn't cost me anything.

That mattered, especially in the darkest moments. 

Why do I keep doing it? Because while it won't make me financially rich it has made me rich in other ways. It has enriched me personally and has created relationships.

It also will never dazzle in terms of reads. I know what statistics I see and they're rarely overwhelming. But it's wonderful to know that a collection of people actually wait for new posts every day. I hear "I read your blog" from people quite often and I'm often shocked to hear it.

On the other hand, I think it has also damaged some relationships. I don't like that and I take it seriously. There have been times when I know I've hurt people and that's not something I'm proud of. Yet, there are simply times that I've needed to say what I had to say.

Still, all of that allowed me to grow. It taught me how to use my words effectively (not that I've succeeded). It's also a document of how I've evolved as a person.

And, to that end, it's a document of events. I can go back to that very first post of Aug 2006. I can pull up my thoughts after a variety of things to remember where I was.

I didn't need to explain why I started a blog nearly 17 years ago. I don't need to explain why I keep doing it. But I figured I'd go there anyway.

Yet, in truth, I don't owe anyone an answer.

I started writing a blog and continue to do so because I want to.

That's why.