I am determined not to give in to Facebook and Twitter. I write to think, to roll ideas around in my head, to try to express the wonder and absurdity of the world I live in and it’s just not possible to do it in 150 characters or less. I do NOT Tweet. The very image that twittering, tweeting, and otherwise making bird noises conjures to me cannot be in any way taken with an ounce of seriousness.

And I am a serious person – even about my humor.

It’s an Irish thing, this seriousness about life.  Just listen to an hour of traditional Irish music and you will get the picture. At the end of an hour, you have either set your jaw or put a gun to your head – it doesn’t really leave room for any gray area in between.   Life is something to be borne with grit, and when it cannot be borne, well, that’s why God (in his most infinite and merciful wisdom) gave us whiskey.   Even our frivolity has a grim determination to it.  Happiness, when it comes, is a blessing, but it is certainly not a birthright.  At least not to the Irish.

This blogging thing is no different.  It must not be done by halves or dashed off with quick abandon.  It’s irresponsible.  It’s frivolous.  It’s inherently un-Irish.  We are, after all, the land of bards and poets, and all the historical weight of the literary world that goes with it.  It’s a blessing and a curse.

So rather than go about half-arsed, I simply haven’t gone at all.  If I am to wallow in my own self-pity, by God, I will do it the Irish way and I will wallow alone and when I am done, I will write a song about it.  Or, according to my personal inclination, I will blog about it.

Pass the whiskey and God Bless All Here.