The things in my head go 'round and 'round

Editors note. A lot of you are hitting on this page when you are searching for Michigan Proposal 1. That is all fine and good, but there are other articles on this blog concerning support and opposition to this important proposal. Please either click on the title “Things in my head go ’round and ‘Round” or hit the archives to see what else is out there.

Thanks, and don’t for get to vote on Tuesday Nobember 4th.

There seems to be a lot of interest in Michigans Proposal 1 that would legalize medical marijuana. I have been getting a few hits on what I wrote a couple of days ago on it.

There is pro and con about this proposal, as you could figure out. There are doctors who support it, and there are doctors who don’t. Of course the ones who don’t support it are labeled as being in the wallet of the big drug companies.

The proposal would require and ID, and annual registration. A patient would be able to grow up to 12 plants of their own. This proposal mirrors ones in 12 other states, so you would think that a good deal of the language has been lawyered to the point where no one could argue about any part of it. The biggest con is that Federal law still makes marijuana possession illegal. That is a big concern, considering the raids on medical marijuana stores in California.

I was reading a blogger from Michigan who took a look at the wording of the proposal and reviewed it here. He says that he will be voting for the proposal, but doesn’t get into saying why.

I would also vote for it for a couple of specific reasons. 1. Marijuana is a weed that has tremendous versatility above and beyond the bud. We are being incredibly short sighted to eliminate this plant from use. The fibers can be used for clothing, rope, and a million other things. The seeds can be pressed for oil, or ground and used for food they are high in nutrients. 2. We have to get beyond that people get high. People get drunk on a daily basis, to great detriment to not only their own health but the health of others. Alcoholism helps drive up all of our insurance rates. And don’t say to me that you would rather work with a drunk co-worker than one who is high. I will take the high one over the drunk one any day. Marijuana is not the evil that it has been made out to be.

So. That is my 2 cents.

What say you, populace?

Namaste.

At some point the question always comes up.

Why do you blog? Why do you put yourself out there for everyone to see and to comment on?

First off, not everyone sees it. Usually when you start writing the crap that goes on in your head, only the people you tell about it actually read it. Unless you are incredibly lucky to have stumbled on a SEO keyword that brings folks in. But that isn’t the usual.

Secondly, it is fun. It is interesting, and can be cathartic. As long as you obey the first rule of blogging.

Rule #1. Don’t blog about work. Period. Don’t allude to it, don’t try to change the name of your company, or your co-workers, just don’t do it. Someone will find it out and you will have to face the music. And it can cost you your job. Yes, it can.

So, again, why? MLW asked this question on her Facebook page, and I answered it as succinctly as I could. MLW is a very private person, with a great amount of class. I am not. I am an attention whore. Have been from the get go, and don’t see it changing much in the near future.

This has caused MLW to shake her head in amazement in the past. Hopefully it hasn’t caused her too much embarrassment. I am the one who walked on stage at a jazz band concert, without prior permission or approval and started playing songs that I had written on guitar. Just did it. Freaked my parents out. Made my middle brother laugh. He didn’t think that I had it in me.

Surprise.

I am the one, at the tender age of 16 while at band camp, took some liberties with some music, added some lyrics that talked about the camp and the totalitarian policies there (remember I was 16), and played the finished song at the camps talent show. Again without approval. I had gotten approval to play another song, but pulled the first one out of my back pocket when I was on stage. To a standing ovation, mind you.

So, I write here because I do like writing. I like crafting stories, and getting feed back from them. But I also do it to show who I am to everyone who will read this. I am the third son of three sons. A Gemini. I have this need to talk about myself, and about the thoughts in my head. And it can be irritating.

I am ok with that.

And I write to help me understand me. I would hate to make some broad generalization here about people and their personal quests for understanding, but I do believe that we all are looking for who we really are. Are we the sum total of who we married, where we live, where we work, where we spend our time? Or are we something more? I am a believer in the something more part. I am a Father, but I am more than that, I am also a Husband, but there is more to me than just that. I am a mid-level executive, hell a can jockey, but I am a whole lot more than that. I am a son, and a brother and more than that. I am something that I haven’t put my finger on yet. And I keep learning more each and every day. Putting those thoughts down on this electronic piece of paper helps me sort it out. Mostly by helping me see that there is always something more to me than just what is going on right now. Because with the typing of those words, “right now” is gone.

See how I am going all esoteric on you now?

I find it amusing that of my 4 kids, the youngest doesn’t read this any longer. It is of no more interest to her. The youngest son reads it occasionally, though his ex-girlfriend checks in pretty much every week. Hi Dani. The eldest son, I don’t think that he even reads this, but in talking to him on the phone the other night, he gets it. And that made my night. He gets blogging, understands the mechanics of it, and was encouraging me to continue. I was floored, and elated all at the same time. That eldest daughter is so busy between work and college that I am surprised that she can even breathe. But she reads every now and then.

So that, in a nutshell is why we blog. And specifically, why I blog.

Any questions? Please leave any comments below.

Namaste.