What this is and probably what this is not

Today is Thursday, June 21, 2018.

It is the day after the current occupant of the Oval Office has canceled his ill-advised, totally-inhumane policy of arresting "illegal" border crossers and remanding them to federal prison to await their hearing and eventual sentence for the federal "crime" of crossing a border without permission. At the same time, any non-adult - meaning children - were separated from their adults, sometimes forcefully, always without a hint of caring for their tender youth, and either stuck in a chain-link cage or shuttled off to some "foster home" near or very far, to await the outcome of their parent's legal battle.

There are so many horrors involved here and it is far too uncomfortable for me to relate any of them here; this is included in my blog merely as a future reference point. It might not be one of those "I remember where I was at that exact moment" moments, but I also sure this misery will be well-remembered for a long time.

Regurgitating unpleasant partisan political behavior is not what this is about, anyway. For a long time, I have used this blog as a one-way outlet for my desire to write. I wrote, not really caring if anyone read anything - though I do have a few regular readers. Thank you! - and continued merely to write. I also found myself doing much the same thing on my own Facebook account. I would write a few paragraphs on any topic of interest that popped into my brain and that needed to be released onto a "written" page somewhere. I realized I was 1) overusing Facebook, and 2) underusing this blog.

I questioned 'why?' and could not come up with any kind of answer, so I have changed my mind.

From now on, this blog will be the place I put those random thoughts that cry out to be written down, not Facebook. Even though I use the same laptop to write and the words will be the same, there seems to be a difference in my mind between that and this. And I like this better! I will not use it to complain or whine (well, maybe I will whine a bit) or carry on a conversation with myself. I will not use it for my genealogy study; I already have a blog for that.

I will use it to improve my own ability to write and communicate. Hopefully, that also means reading more to strengthen a point, since I do not want this just to be a blog about my own opinions. Anyway, any kind of writing, especially good writing, demands lots of reading.

If you, dear reader, have a comment, feel free to add it. Constructive criticism (I have been accused of rambling; do you sense any?) and reading suggestions are always welcome. And, of course, if you want to refer this blog to others that might be interested, I will never turn down that offer!