Why Me? Why Blog?

Those with Latin will recognize that Descartes' famous dictum 'I think therefore I am' has been tampered with.






I’m in my mid 80’s, and as I stare my inevitable demise squarely in the face, I realize that the only part of me that will persist when I go are my scraps of genes passed on to a few progeny and perhaps the effects my presence has had on some of my family, friends and students. Most of what I’ve learned, insights I’ve had, and what goes on in my mind will be lost forever.

That is unless, of course, I should write. It’s sort of amazing that through the written word an ordinary person like me can leave a permanent record behind. I think each of us is unique and should leave some sort of written legacy - but it is not easy. Most of us are not like ‘writers’ who are clever with words and have a compulsion to write, but I often think what a wonderful gift it would have been if my grandparents who died before I was born had written something about themselves. Another advantage of the written word is that the reader has the choice to peruse what I have to say or not.

But why blog? Well, although I should feel a real sense of urgency to write - I’ve lived longer than all but one in my large extended family and, with my health problems, I feel like I am living on ‘borrowed time’ - my resolve is not strong enough to overcome inertia and life’s distractions. I need some sort of nudging along to keep me at it and hope this blog will be the answer. It will perhaps give me enough incentive and feedback to feel committed. I must admit the possibility of a wider audience is appealing too. So there - I have written my first blog post and I aim to continue with a couple a week and keep them short.

Rie (my first grandchild couldn’t say my first name so now I’m ‘Rie’ to all the family. That also explains the spelling of ‘Rieson’ in the name of my blog)