Thumper said, “If you can't say something nice ... don't say nothing at all.”

I haven’t blogged in a long time. Sorry. I’ve found some enjoyment in ignoring the on button to my laptop. Facebook can do that to a person. It is a love/hate thing, I think. That and something like 550 unopened emails.

Plus, this is the all important birthday month for the kids and me. Oh, and I’m now engaged. So, yeah! I’ve had a lot of things worth documenting and denoting the date. But I haven’t felt like blogging ‘em to the world. Quite honestly, because things are all “Even Happier Than That” right now, I’m rather boring to you, I fear.

But the most prominent excuse for not blogging is I’ve spent much more time listening. I have been sort of eaves dropping in on the world and it is a lot more fun sometimes than trying to come up with something to write about. You all have a lot going on.

Though sadly, I’ve come to the conclusion that most of the talk in the grocery store line and around the water cooler is simply passing judgment on others. No new ideas to report. No success stories of encouragement to reveal. And that is bothersome, really. People talk constantly about what friends are doing with a mighty tinge of harsh verdict laced within. It’s not as if I’ve been oblivious to gossip and am just now learning the term. It’s just that it is all so negative. And I’ve had enough with negative.

Bertrand Russell once said, “No one gossips about other people’s secret virtues.” Listen around and you’ll hear that is unequivocally true. It is much more fun to talk about the scandal or even the minor blemishes over the successes and daily joys. Pay it forward was a fun, one-time movie theme, but it isn’t as much fun as the daily drama and sorrow of an acquaintance or friend. None of it would carry any weight if we all didn’t want to believe in it to make ourselves feel a bit better “just knowing”. It probably isn’t even true, maybe a half-truth, but we act like it is a fact.

There is a lust in man no charm can tame,
Of loudly publishing his neighbor’s shame,
On eagles wings immortal scandals fly,
While virtuous actions are born and die.
- William Harvey

In all of that, I take one exception. Facebook. FB is sort of a personal public relations site where one propagates one’s good stuffs. Why would one want to air dirty laundry on purpose when you get so much more drama talking trash?

Never the less, you might read more from me now as I try hard to stop listening to the gossip and get a better grip on new ideas and thoughts.