Embarkation

 by Steven B. Orkin

 

 

I questioned whether 'Embarkation' was actually a word.

It is.

I looked it up.

Honestly, I'm a little ambivalent about blogging. It seems to require a level of self-voyeurism, perhaps even narcissism, I'm not comfortable with. Even outside of that, please excuse my slide into self-deprecation, but I'm not sure anyone cares what I have to say.

However, as a writer, I'm accustomed to expressing myself verbally, and as writing is both my vocation and my passion, I venture to say I'm pretty good at it. Further, I'm fairly intelligent, and pride myself on my ability to see things from various perspectives (even if I don't agree with all those perspectives), and to see beneath the surface of things. Whether my confidence is justified on either front is a matter you will have to determine for yourselves.

Despite my above-noted ambivalence, I've conducted a recurring debate about it, and have even taken a test drive or two just to see how it felt, but having recently joined the ever-expanding cult of Facebook, I've found my appetite has been whetted to get my word (such as it is) out to a somewhat broader audience. The matter of whether anyone cares seems to be giving way to the idea that that may not matter. Even if I'm talking to empty cyberspace, as long as no animals are being harmed, no hydrogenated vegetable oil is being used, no second-hand smoke is being inhaled, and it's providing an element of personal catharsis for me, it's all good. Further, though there are certainly vast numbers of people who are both more intelligent, and more skilled as writers than I am, I'm warming to the idea that, as with most endeavors, it's not a matter of 'Why Me?', but 'Why not Me?'.

One of the catalytic factors in taking the plunge was the suggestion of my friend Erin (and a few enthusiastic backup encouragements) in response to an essay I posted on FB last summer about Michael Jackson (which I'm toying with reprinting here with a few updates.), as well as positive feedback from some other odds and ends I've posted there.

(While I'm thinking of it (or as I sometimes say to my friend and office mate Christiana, WITOI), please be advised I have a near uncontrollable proclivity for parenthetical asides. Wow, a double; impressive!) Let it be known I considered parenthesizing the 'Wow, a double' statement, which would have made it a triple. Further, I could have inserted further parentheses around the 'Let it be known' sentence, creating a towering four parenthetical statements in one short paragraph. However, it's clear I must cease this parenthetical madness.

Anyway, I think the time is right. I think this may be the start of something enduring. I have a sense of standing before open country. My walking stick is firmly in hand. I've got plenty of water and supplies, and I am ready to trek forth into the wilderness. As I move through it, I shall endeavor to entertain, amuse, inspire, captivate, inform, and challenge you. Let's see where this journey takes us...

Thank you for reading.