Writing Notes for the New Posts

Today is a day for working on the blog. I will finish some of the half-written posts that have been accumulating here in the secret regions of this blog in much the same way that the little handwritten notes accumulate around my desk.

The goal with this blog is to write some words for people to read, and to write at least one post a month. And even though I am behind on my one-a-month goal, I will get caught up. So thanks to everyone who keeps checking in, day after day.

Now I'll set the scene. I'm in the writing room. I got my guitars and other instruments in their cases and out of sight. The risk of distraction is too high. Sometimes I can see a guitar and walk away, but I don't want to test myself right now. But I will put on some music, as a way to satisfy the musical part of my mind. I've selected the The Pizza Tapes, which feature a power trio of the acoustic world if there ever was one: Jerry Garcia, David Grisman, and Tony Rice. As I sit here writing, I can see Marley in the hall to my left. The December sun is shining in from the window to my right. The music is turned up pretty loud, but it's coming in clear.

Sometimes it takes some searching to find the right music for writing. Most of the time I like to work in silence. But there's a joyful feeling in my bones today. I've reached a good point with my books where I'm happy to take a break, and I know I won't feel too guilty setting my words down in some pages that are not book pages.

I have already started going through notebooks and photographs and calendars to see what I've done and the order in which it all happened. When I started this process of looking back, I felt shocked: all the photographs and all the missions that have happened just in the last few months. There's many details in my mind and in my archives. But I'm going to try and go through and pick out some from here and there, and then set them down. I'll try to include some photos too, because I've gotten some requests.

Well, time has passed. The posts are coming together. I'm into my third listen of The Pizza Tapes. And now I'll pour some coffee from my vacuum flask and go back in my mind to the happy month of June, when the East Coast lands that I call home were very green, and the sweat of summer was thick upon my brow, and I was doing what many people in the world were doing: watching soccer and thinking about life.