I think blog-dom has been robbed… by Facebook.

(GASP!)

I know, I know, I’ve just uttered the unspeakable. Actually I think I’ve just said what everyone already knows but isn’t willing to admit (not that I have heard anyway). Everyone is facebooking; blogging is almost a by-gone. And why not? It’s so easy to Facebook. Just tell the world what you ate for breakfast forty-three seconds ago (and maybe include a picture or two) and move on to something else – which will be subsequently photographed, videoed, and posted to the web from your smart phone in as little time as it takes to read this paragraph.

If I sound a little bit bitter it is only that I miss the thought processes necessary to posting on a blog. Blogging requires effort; Facebooking does not.

Hey look! I just updated my blog! But then no one will know the difference anyway…. Maybe I should let everyone know with a status update.

“That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cat.

“I don’t much care where -” said Alice.

“Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,” said the Cat.

“-so long as I get somewhere,” Alice added as an explanation.

~ Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

.

So profound… for a lot of philosophical bilge.

I like cemeteries. I like the escape I find there from the commotion of life. There is no rush in a cemetery; all is still and calm. When I visit cemeteries and wander past that vast array of tombstones, I often wonder about the people buried beneath them. Who were they and what stories do they have to tell? I don’t see a cemetery as a morbid collection of dead bodies; I see each tombstone as representing a life – a life of color and beauty. I wonder what each person did with his life, what legacy he left behind? What impact did he have on those who succeed him?

On this particular day I was chagrined by the thought that the answers to these questions are summarized with only a dash – one simple, ambiguous “-” etched in stone. The injustice of the tombstone is that it tells the passing stranger the date of birth and the date of death but says nothing about the intervening years. Nowhere does it unfold the legacy each left or tell of the lives that have been influenced for good or for ill. We may be fortunate to have forgotten the records of some, but how many stories have been lost that deserve remembrance?

It occurred to me that only a few are granted the privilege of having history remember their names. For every Nero and Hitler we remember, scores of tyrants have lived to torment and oppress. And for every Lincoln and Mother Teresa, many more heroes remain over-looked, their actions forgotten.

But are their accomplishments really lost? Did their influence simply vanish into the grave with them? Indeed it did not! The average person cannot name Abraham Lincoln’s father or mother or grandparents or school teacher. But who would Lincoln have been without them? No one may ever know the names of Hitler’s child-hood friends, but which ones may have borne the strongest influence on him?

Many endeavor to leave their “mark,” when all they really want is popularity. And as they strive for fame, they ignore the truth that indeed history will ultimately acknowledge them. Their tombstone may leave only a dash, but the people they influenced will live on. They in turn will pass on that influence. Generations down the line, that influence will still thrive – unrecognized perhaps, but inextinguishable.

Succeeding generations may or may not know my name, but the present generation does. And those around me are the ones who will carry my influence beyond my time. I may never have school children reading about me and my deeds, but I wonder… what heroes or tyrants will I have influenced?

(2)(b) Any $20.00 donations received beyond the first one will not be refunded. Stinks doesn’t it.

Consider this post a “sound-check.”

Is this blog working…?

OK. Cool.

“Evil is evil as long as you keep it in the classroom. Out here in the real world, gossip doesn’t even feel evil.”

- From THR3E

We assure you that this behavior is inexcusable and will not be tolerated under any circumstances. The said contributor will therefore be subjected to further periodic but brief rebukes from the voice in his head which he will doubtless ignore.

Should anyone object to these harsh penalties, we understand your concerns but some things simply must be done. If you still feel this is cruel and unusual, we understand that bribery is sometimes effective in remedying these situations.

Her: “I don’t know anything about particles.”

“No, that’s participles.” (I’m thinking there’s something I should know about Greek particles too but I can’t remember and I’m not going to admit that.)

“So tell me how many genitive uses there are in Greek.”

“Huh?”

“OK, never mind. Tell me how many dative uses there are in Greek.”

“Dates? Well let’s see – they could chop them up and put them in pies or eat them.”

“Uh, no…. OK, well explain to me the significane of the subjunctive mood.”

“Well, sometimes my moods aren’t always so great…. Why are you laughing? I didn’t know my jokes were that funny.”

I’m thinking she knows about as much Greek as I do.