Pilot

     Welcome to the inaugural posting of my blog, A Century in the Central Valley. Today's post is a brief introduction of my goals for the blog. The essays will be nonfiction with names change as needed. By nature, this type of writing often is autobiographical, but I will avoid a recounting of my daily activities. When I brushed is of no interest to anyone, at anytime.

     "Century" in the title of this blog could very well refer to the time spent thinking about starting it. Many mental starts were attempted, but until you actually put pen to paper, (once an actual descriptive phrase, technology quickly turning it into an idiom) doesn't really count. The desire for perfection can only lead to the perfection of a totally blank page. Commas will be misplaced, tenses will be mixed, infinitives may be split like a cord of wood. I have to accept that, if I want to share my thoughts with the outside.

     The "Central Valley" is also a slight misnomer. While I'll try to have regular essays pertaining to this locale (cue the theme from The Big Valley), I do reserve the right for the subject matter to vary geographically, topically, or any other "lly" I choose.

     I will discuss politics, more local than national. I will present the liberal viewpoint; I'm not ashamed to call myself one, but don't assume you know my stance on an issue until I present it. I will write serious advocacy essays and inflict my humor on you,too. I hope most of what you read will entertain or inform you in some way and you won't demand your time back.

     The length will be in the neighborhood of an op-ed piece, 250-750 words. I can see some issue or idea needing more words to flesh out, so some two-parters will happen. The major goal is to have something new everyday. Please feel free to comment, but keep it civil, life hits us hard enough without a pile-on by the grammar nazis or circle-jerkers.

     Let's see where this takes us...

Up next: the real story behind the title.