A friend told me she never knows what I’m going to write about, so it’s always a surprise. That makes at least two of us. Until my little lightbulb goes off, I don’t know what I’m going to say either. I have a lot of varied interests: history, photography, philosophy, religion, politics, ecology, technology. I’m a bit of a geek and I do enjoy my toys. Serendipity is appropriate, I guess. Grab bag would work too.

I try to be on the right side of issues. I do my best to align with the righteous on the side of justice, kindness, and giving everyone the benefit of a doubt. I don’t always live up to my own best self, but I try. You are welcome here and I ask only that you don’t insult anyone, not me or anyone who comments here. I reserve the right to delete or edit your comments. Sometimes I delete comments because they’re too long. Extended interchanges are better done in private email. I prefer not to have essays in comments. You are welcome to email me directly at fivedawgz@gmail.com. I find it awkward when a comment exceeds the length of the original post.

Did I mention that I love dogs? And photography? Words? I am perhaps excessively fond of cleverness and clever people. Plays on words make me giggle. My favorite piece of music is Beethoven’s 6th Symphony. Which doesn’t mean I don’t love country music, folk music, some very hard rock … I’m nothing if not eclectic.

As far as participating on this site, civility counts. Please be nice. We can be civil, even if we are not of the same mind.

This is not a public forum. For good or ill, democracy does not prevail here. If you want a fight, you can’t have it  here. I don’t want this site to be a battleground, nor do I want long disputes. There’s more than enough of that on social media sites. Therefore, on my site, when I say the conversation is over when I’ve had enough.

I write about everything and nothing. Sometimes I’m current, sometimes I wander off into stuff that I find interesting and maybe you won’t. That’s the joy of writing without a boss looking over my shoulder. After a lifetime of writing for a living, I treasure the freedom to say whatever I want.

I offer you some memories, many thoughts, stories, and pictures. The photographs are mine unless obviously otherwise or credited to someone else. If it’s a picture of me, it’s a good bet I didn’t take it. I also reblog postings that I think you will find interesting … or that I find interesting or funny or in some other way special.

Welcome, whoever you are, wherever you are.