Introduction

          I started out many, many years ago thinking I would write a book, maybe self-published, maybe a national best-seller (yeah, right!).  Remember, that was before the Internet, eBooks, blogs, and all other things techie.  I scrapped more than a dozen attempts at The Great American Novel; I just didn’t have the attention span to delve into even a fictional person’s life that much.  So, I thought maybe I could write humor, like Erma Bombeck.  The trouble with that was that life isn’t always funny.  Sometimes it’s sad, frustrating, bizarre, and just plain dull.  Then I thought I would be deeply philosophical, like Robert Fulgham.  The trouble with that was that I was too busy surviving on a day-to-day basis to be philosophical. 

So I decided to be just plain me, an average person who has had some funny things happen, has had some sad things happen, and hasn’t had anything happen at all; probably much the same as most of you.  If I manage to create laughter, that’s good.  If all I manage to do is share part of my life and how I view it with you, I guess that’s not all bad either.

          When shifting my thought process from book to blog, I panicked.  Blogs are so much more immediate.  What if people didn’t like what I was writing?  What if I offended someone inadvertently?  What if someone left a negative comment for me? 

          I shared these fears with Captain, and all he said was “What if they do like it?  And so what if they don’t?  You don’t write for fame and fortune.  You write because you like it and you’re good at it.”  Trust Captain to nail it in just a few words. 

          While all of these episodes are true, I have taken the creative liberty of changing or omitting relationships to me.  While I don’t mind, and actually enjoy, being the center of attention, not everyone I know feels the same way.  The relationships aren’t relative anyway.  It’s the lesson or insight behind the story that is important. 

          So I welcome you to Misdeeds by the Misguided, a look at the life and times of me, my family, and my friends.  I really hope you enjoy reading what I so much enjoyed writing.