This is My Column

This is my column. Here, contained within this great white abyss will be discussed issues, random topics of relevance and interesting subjects regarding our lives and our world. Exactly the sort of column one might find in a newspaper, however, this will not be a blog. The distinction becomes lost in the art and grace in which a columnist might present his or her writing. Blogs are the sort of writing venues displaying updates on ones personnal life, or the intellectual philosophical reflections of an individual and the thoughts of people on social networking sites such as the ever immortalized Myspace.com. None of these venues are wrong or tasteless, I am only establishing that I do not wish to prattle on about me, I want to invigorate you the reader with thought provoking topics. I will write one a week, even if I am on deployments or training, I will post columns for the readership.

The readership, the occult following of people who love to read their favorite pieces in their favorite magazines/newspapers/periodicals written by their favorite authors. You, right now, reading this piece, that is what my entire ambitions are for. I want to write these columns with things that I am interested in, hoping people will become excited to investigate more in what I am saying. English and literature are my passions, I love Chekov, Conrad, Falkner, Hemmingway and the Little Brown Handbook. A world of stunning amazement I have not lost since maturing from child to adult. The imagination is a powerful machine which produces the most delightful contraptions our world has ever seen. It is not the author which pleases or amazes me so much, it is the reader who can take what is written and make it so much more. Literature is the ultimate vacation, like in "Total Recall" books are the premium escape uploaded into our minds. When I first read Pnin by Vladimir Nabokov, I was struck by Nabokov's intense portrait of an eclectic old man blundering through American society, hiding his inner pain by struggling to inspire his students and friends with the beauty and art of Russian literature. Pnin also demonstrates the author's own experiences in a land not his own. Movies, of course, offer the instant and easy means of experiencing a book. I hold the opinion that by reading a book, you can see between the lines and actually see the author as the person bleeding through the literary process. Take a moment to sigh contently, set the book down and digest the book. Stare at the wall with a far-away smile, swirling about the images derived from words read and see that land of possibilities.

This week, my column is all about the readership. How proud I am to present to you, the reader, things I enjoy and topics I find interesting and amusing. The readership is a symbiotic relationship extended down: writer to paper via pen, to book to shelve to lap reading. I salute the readership whether or not that readership is enjoying my writing or others. Find a well lighted room and snuggle down for a long, satisfying afternoon.

For those about to read, I salute you!