An Update From The Silence

Your Bloguero took a blog hiatus back on October 8, 2012. Why? As your Bloguero stated in his TTFN message:

Well, I'm going to go off and have an adventure or two, and do some different things for a while, and so I probably won't be seen around here for a month or so. Maybe longer. I'm fine. There's nothing wrong. Everything is good. It's just that it's time for a new adventure. Or two. In the material world.

Yes, your Bloguero did break his silent running a few times. For what he thought were things too important or too odd to omit. Things he just had to write. But in general, he's maintained his silence. And he's pursued his adventures.

Your Bloguero is also aware that long silences are often the sure sign that the blog (or its Bloguero) has passed on to other things, that it's finished. Nevertheless, the rumors (are there any yet?) of this blog's death are entirely exaggerated. The blog continues.

With a change. Because of your Bloguero's adventures, which include the changes he is making in his everyday working world, he can no longer write about politics. Other topics, yes. Politics, no. Just not permissible. And he probably shouldn't be commenting about politics either. That too is verboten.

Your Bloguero will doubtless continue here. Other places, particularly where your Bloguero posted only pieces about politics, no. Can't. He will have to say good bye cruel world in each of them. It's a part of the current adventure. A small price to pay.

TTFN

I was thinking that I'd just walk away, and stop posting for a while, and that I'd come back in November, after the election, and see whether I felt like posting some more. I could just go. Quietly. Disappear myself. Self deport. I leave aside any speculation as to whether my not writing would be noticed.

Then I thought that might be rude. I mean: I've been here since August, 2005.I've written 1,365 essays. There have been more than 100,000 page views. In other words, I've been sitting in that chair in the corner of the collective living room for a while. Sometimes I left my beer bottles on the floor, sometimes I had flowers and poetry for others. So maybe the right thing to do is to say something before I get out of the chair and just up and leave. Something like this:

Well, I'm going to go off and have an adventure or two, and do some different things for a while, and so I probably won't be seen around here for a month or so. Maybe longer. I'm fine. There's nothing wrong. Everything is good. It's just that it's time for a new adventure. Or two. In the material world. So, while I'm gone, it's ok for somebody else to sit in my chair. To take it over, make it your own. It's comfortable. And when you sit in this corner, it's ok to be erratic, and even cranky sometimes. It's ok to talk about yourself in the third person. Just try to be entertaining, ok? That's it. Well, I reckon I got to light out for the territory ahead.

Melvin Michaels, RIP

Your Bloguero's father (on the right) passed away on the morning of February 17, 2012. His obituary:

Melvin L. Michaels, a long time public school teacher and administrator, passed away on February 17, 2012. He was 92 years old.

Born in Newark, New Jersey, he initially taught history and English and coached track before becoming Assistant Principal at Westfield Sr. High School (New Jersey). He also served as principal at Teaneck High School (New Jersey) and Highland Park High School (New Jersey) and was Director of Secondary Education and Assistant Superintendent of Schools at North Penn School District (Pennsylvania). He retired in 1986.

He earned a BA from Montclair State Teachers College, an MA from New York University, and an Ed.D from Teachers’ College, Columbia University. Before he was a teacher, he earned tuition money as a piano player and as a tool and die maker. He was the first member of his family to graduate from high school.

During World War II he served in Military Intelligence with the 76th Infantry Division in Germany. He was honorably discharged as a Master Sergeant.

He met his wife, Winifred, who predeceased him, at Montclair State College. They were married for 62 years.

He was a lifelong music lover and a skilled pianist and a dedicated angler.

He leaves a brother, Herbert Michaels, a sister, Claire Greenberg, both of Florida, two sons, Arthur J Michaels formerly of Harrisburg, and David Seth Michaels, of Spencertown, New York, and five grandchildren.

Graveside services will be held on Sunday, February 19th, 2012 at 2 pm at Mt. Lebanon Cemetery, Iselin, NJ. Rabbi Akiva Males will be officiating.

To share online condolences please visit www.hetrickbitner.com.

Althouhg this obituary conveys very little about him and who he was and the joy he brought to those who knew him, I am unable at the moment to tell more. This blog will now be on hiatus for a bit. Please join us when we return.

An Extremely Brief Hiatus

Punta Bahia Soliman, Tulum

Today's local paper reports about Sonny Rollins, one of my favorite musicians, and his recent presidential honor at Kennedy Center. The important part of Rollins's story to this post is that from 1959 to 1961, he took a famous "sabbatical," a hiatus from performing and recording, and he worked on his music by himself. Privately. And he didn't play for listeners. It's told that he practiced in this period on the Williamsburg Bridge. And it's told that he was "frustrated with what he perceived as his own musical limitations."

Asked about this hiatus by the local paper some fifty years later, Rollins said:

“I took a break because I felt I wasn’t playing as well as I could. I had a lot of people praising me and I felt I wasn’t able to live up to it. I have pride in what I do. You have to have strength with your convictions. When I came back from hiatus, people said I didn’t sound any different. That did not matter to me because I did learn something whether or not they heard it. I listened to my inner voice and that was the main thing,” said Rollins.

Put another way, Rollins took some time-- for him it was about 3 years-- to recharge, reorient, resuscitate, restore his edge.

Which brings this post to me, your humble Bloguero. My present judgment, that I'm not writing as well as I can, that my writing is getting stale, formulaic, tired, seems to have been coming out lately in my projections, specifically, that not enough people are reading me, that not enough comments are made, that not enough clicks are received. Habla bla bla bla. This feels like whining. Or whinging (thank you, Xanthe) as one astute reader recently pointed out. The most recent example is here (a special thanks to Diane). The problem, of course, as usual with projection is that it's not the readers' problems. Not at all. Never is. It's not you. It's not outside of me. It's me. So I have decided to ask myself, "You talkin to me? You talking to me?" Well, yeah.

There are two parts of this. First, after a five year slog, Tulum has finally been published. I can write post after post after attempted cleaver post asking people to buy it online at Barnes and Noble, Amazon and iUniverse. I can tell you what a great gift and stocking stuffer it is. But let's face it, I don't like being stuck on that topic for long and using my keyboard as a blunt instrument of book marketing. No fun. Stale. Second, and maybe this is part of the first thing, the space that launching the book into the world might have created in my inner world, space to think about new things, space to dream up new ideas, space that is empty, space that is fresh, seems to be cluttered. With commerce. And work. And fatigue. And cobwebs. Again, no fun. Not for me, and definitely not for you.

And so, I've decided to take some time, a very little time, just from here to the end of the year, benignly to neglect this blog. To assume blog silence for a couple of weeks. To travel into the darkest, shortest day of the year in silence. To be quiet. To be still. To rest. To see, whether with some silence and soon the lengthening of the days, my edge is burnished. And my fatigue is banished. And there is more light and heat and creativity. So I can come back in 2012 restored, rested, renewed.

That makes this, as I walk away, a great time to post this blog's annual greeting:

Felices Fiestas! Queremos tomar esta tiempo para ofrecerle nuestros mejores deseos a usted y sus seres queridos. Esperamos que su hogar este lleno de gozo, cordialidad y buena voluntad durante esta temporada de fiestas. Que usted y su familia gozen de paz, felicidad y buena salud durante el nuevo ano.

Seasons Greetings! We'd like to take this time to extend our very best wishes to you and your loved ones. We hope your home will be filled with joy, warmth and goodwill during this holiday season. May you and your family enjoy peace, happiness, and good health throughout the coming year.

Hasta pronto.

On Going To The Woodshed

Today at dailyKos and docuDharma, I posted an essay saying that I was taking a break from posting at those two sites. I'm not saying I will never post there again. Hardly. I'm just taking a break from them. I'll still post here. This, I think, will free up some valuable time for me.

Also, I'm going to be very careful of how much time I spend writing for this blog.

I expect to be able to keep on putting up essays. You'll see how this goes, and I'll report about it later on. And maybe, later on, I'll also elaborate about why I'm limiting my blogging activities and what I hope will come of it. Please stay tuned.