The 'Beginning a Blog' Tale

So, here I am.

For the positive and the negative, Facebook has allowed every voice you've come across to be reintroduced into your life in near real-time.

Though we usually hear about the negative stories related to this invasion, this blog is borne out of a positive one.

I recently re-connected with a good friend of mine, an annual roommate actually, who had resettled in Knoxville. As we both went to school in Western Wisconsin and I've since moved to Portland, without Social Media there would otherwise be little opportunity for us to reconnect. Fortunately though, we had.

One of the things that he said to me, to the effect of, "I hope you're still writing. You had an incredible skill in that area," went straight to my gut.

Is is possible to let someone down whom you haven't connected with in ten years? Without social media, would this phenomenon be limited to class reunions?

In one swift sentence, and probably still a bit unbeknown to him, I've again re-investigated this latent skill-o-mine.

And such is the tale of the beginnings of this site. I'm hoping to use this as a semi-public diary, an open anthology of my short stories - whatever form they should come in. I have a few written on paper and a few more will surface with time. Perhaps the blessing for me will be a format not stricken to particular topics ... and with 'The Red Tussock as a title, I'm amorphous enough to cover whatever I like!

So just what is a 'Red Tussock' anyway? I'm glad you ask!

Tussock is a form of high grass native to New Zealand. The name, suggested as Scottish in origin, thrives in the paddocks and rolling hills of Godzone. It is the ancient foundation for one of the last colonized countries on Earth and one of the binding ties of the Kiwi culture. I don't believe there is a more basic, and at the same time more noble, title to be found. But that's just one writer's opinion.