Preachin to the Choir, I Figger

Welcome to "The Gods Are Bored," a daily waste of time since 2005!

Is blogging a waste of time?

My spouse has a friend who is a well-known local sportswriter. The friend in question is getting up in years, and some local bloggers have questioned the man's grasp of modernity while also commenting on his girth. This sportswriter is not the type to suffer trolls gracefully. He answers back, pound for pound (pardon the allusion).

Last night as we gathered around the supper trough, my spouse was talking about his friend. Said spouse: "What are bloggers anyway but people who have nothing to do but sit around and spout off about nothing?"

Ouch.

Both daughters stared in my direction immediately, but spouse couldn't figure out why his precious Annie had gone so dead silent. When daughter The Heir pointed out his comment, he apologized and said "present company excepted."

Ahem, I hope so, but I wouldn't bet the farm on it.

This is what blogging does for me:

Just like almost everyone in Middle America, I have a sucky life, all your typical bullshit problems like a fractious tween, a bum hip, reduced wages and higher prices for everything, worries about global warming and useless moronic wars, concern about the Appalachian county in which I grew up, anxiety about my future, my spouse's future, my kids' futures, my cats' futures, my car's future, the starving children in Africa, the gun violence in Philadelphia, and the planned takeover of Amerika by the Christian Blight.

I sit down here at the computer and try to make myself laugh so I'll forget all that stuff for awhile. That's what I do at "The Gods Are Bored."

It's cheaper than reefer and legal to boot. No one gets hurt, and the stains that might get on the furniture go onto the computer's surge protector instead. (I happen to know that my spouse hates stains on the upholstery. That's what endeared him to me back in the day.)

Am I wasting my time? Yes, of course. There are a million things I need to be doing at this moment. But nothing is more important than finding a reason to laugh. If I don't laugh I'll go crazy. Then, not only will nothing get done, but we'll also be socked with psych bills and I'll be stigmatized in my community.

Don't you love "not only ... but also"??? Elegant grammar and sophisticated vocabulary are but two of our hallmarks here at "The Gods Are Bored!"

What do you think? I know it's kind of silly asking bloggers if they think blogging's worthwhile. Just like asking choir members if church attendance is worthwhile. But I'm asking? Do you read a newspaper? Do you listen to Focus on the Family every day so that you're educated on gay marriage and evolution? Do you use your blog as the sports column you'd love to write, if only?

My blog plugs the hole that's causing my life's sap to ooze out and drip away. I am wasting time so that time doesn't waste me.

(Apologies to Shakespeare from stealing one of his great lines)

FROM ANNE
THE MERLIN OF BERKELEY SPRINGS