A Head Start

There are times when you just need a head start.  I guess that's what this is.

My resolution for the coming new year is to write more.  I get so much satisfaction from writing, some times it is almost like therapy.  And it doesn't come with the hangover a bottle of Jameson delivers.

I'm very good at coming up with excuses why I don't write.  The biggest and best is "I don't have time."

That's always a good one.

And so my resolution:  To Make Time.

Why would I not do something I enjoy so much?  That's a really good question, Sam.

I can only assume this electronic chicken scratching will be around for a while in cyberspace.  Certainly through my lifetime.  My hope is that my two tax deductions will have something to look back on someday.

Reading the old man's blog.

I've always thought how neat it would have been if my parents had kept blogs - of course, both were already gone long before "internet" became a household word, but it would have been something that I would've treasured.

That said, my dad was a prolific letter writer.  I still go back and read them.  They are priceless to me.

Dad also kept a journal during his time served in World War II.  It is something that I cherish and I made it into a blog a few years ago.  (The link is at the very bottom of this page.)

I decided that I want this blog to be as stripped down as possible.  No fancy do-dads, widgets or gizmos.  Just words.  

As a result, I've done a lot of house cleaning.  If you have ever stopped here before you might have noticed the tidying up I've done.

If you're new, what can one expect to read here?  Nothing specific, just a potpourri of topics.  Things that interest me.  Things I might have an opinion about.  An amusing story here and there.  Maybe a book review now and then.

I'm writing for myself.  If someone happens to read it, that's perfectly fine with me.

I find blogging to be much more satisfying than posting something on Facebook.  Lord knows Facebook is full of drama, time consuming games, passive aggressive behavior.  At times, just plain idiocy.

In fact, last year a study reported by CBS News found that the more "friends" a person has on Facebook, the more stressed they are.

As they say, with friends like that...

Of course, I can't paint the whole Facebook picture with broad strokes.  I've reconnected with a lot of old friends and relatives for which I am thankful.  But to cop a phrase that I absolutely hate, "It is what it is."

Keeping a blog is much easier, more rewarding and far more personal.  And any drama is self-inflicted.  If you don't like what I have to say, simply don't dial me up on your browser.

Horse Manure Park?

I know what you're thinking:  What kind of name is Horse Manure Park?  

That's a fair question.

Actually, I was going to start a brand new blog with a brand new address, but then thought twice.  I have a lot of stuff archived here and ultimately decided to keep everything in one place.

But in the spirit of starting fresh, I thought a new name was in order.

Horse Manure Park popped into my head as an interesting and unique name (if not a bit crude, but that's how I am).  And yes, there is a story behind it.

You see, Horse Manure Park is actually a real place, although it has been almost completely forgotten about.  I would be curious how many people besides me and my two brothers even remember it.

The story, as I remember my dad telling me, went something like this:

In the acres behind the house where I grew up (in Oak Valley Township, Minnesota), there was a place where farmers took a break from tending crops; it was a wooded area near a large field where the men relaxed to eat their lunch and watered their horses under much needed shade.

Not the real Horse Manure Park, but it might have looked something like this back in the day.

And it was here where the horses did their, um, thing.

One day, as a joke, someone nailed a hand-painted sign on a nearby tree, which read, "Horse Manure Park."  The name stuck for decades.  

So not only is it an unique name, it also has a special meaning to me.

To think of it another way, the Horse Manure Park blog is where I come to shoot the shit.

A memorable name, indeed.

Perhaps one day I will post pictures of the real Horse Manure Park, but that will have to wait until spring.  As we speak, Horse Manure Park is full of snow.  And getting fuller.

That is the word of the day, friends: