Welcome to Ramblings of a Common Man, a blog about simple observations in our daily lives. Sometimes intrinsic, occasionally with a hint of literary merit, and usually with a message; this blog attempts to capture the essence of that which we often overlook – the simple, subtle details that enrich our lives.

This is not a “how to” blog, like a recipe blog that assures us about the best-ever biscuits that unfortunately squat instead of rise. Nor is it the contemporary version of a slide show of the family vacation full of relatives so carefully orchestrated that the people appear as cardboard cutouts on what was an interesting natural backdrop. And it will probably not have baby pictures either, sorry. This blog is a story, several actually, that may be well composed, but could just as easily be as the title suggests – ramblings, writings that wander in a discursive or aimless manner. And that is OK. That may be the reality of our own perception of life at any given moment.

So why am I writing this? Hey, it is winter in the Midwest and I am bored. But seriously, the fast paced society in which we live forces us to give up something. And one of those “somethings” is paying attention to detail. Toddlers are inquisitive. They pay attention to detail. (Watch for a future post dedicated to toddler’s attention to detail) But as we age, we drift away from the natural curiosity and the detail fades into the background. Today, the constant drone of information in an electronics era further dissolves the detail. We just don’t notice. We are seeing, but not observing. We are hearing, but not listening. And we are sensing, but not perceiving. Our lives have become like a sedimentary rock, but missing a stratum; like a fabric without texture; like a palette without even a hint of a primary color. Part of the irony of this blog is that I am adding to the electronic static that infiltrates our daily lives.

Who am I? I am just an average guy, having grown up in small town America on the edge of the Appalachians. As I write this, I recall an eighth grade honors English class. The teacher was a late middle age woman (she seemed elderly to me at the time), never married, and wore her graying hair in a bun. She rarely smiled and ruled with a strict, no nonsense hand. As an adolescent, I really did not have much interest in this honors class, or any English class for that matter. The only reason that I took this class was that I had a sense that it would help me get to a University, and perhaps help me get through a University with a degree. I had no expectation earlier in life that I would ever write anything that someone other than a teacher might read. And yet here I am. I learned much more in that English class than I realized at the time.

I hope to post a new article about once week, sometimes more, sometimes less.

So again, welcome. Thanks for reading. And if you like this blog, pass it along to your friends.

Greg