The gift of fluff
Published 9:47 pm Friday, December 18, 2009
I am not a writer. I am not a journalist. And even as I sit here writing this column, I will be the first to admit that I am not, in fact nor profession, a columnist.
Columnists, in my perception of them, are those with hard-and-fast opinions about things who expose you to the positive and negative sides of your core beliefs — be they religious, social or political in nature. Moreover, columnists are masters of complex thinking and relaying those complex thoughts in a way that is, whether liked or not, palatable for the reader.
I’m just a pudgy guy who types what he’s thinking about. And sometimes, people find what I’m thinking about to be funny, cute or enjoyable in some other way.
For the person looking for concise, conscientious, introspective, get-down-to-business writing, I suggest reading actual columnists with serious agendas. I just want to entertain you all for a spell. And, if I should happen to make a good point here and there in my columns, trust me when I say it is purely accidental.
So what is the value in simply entertaining others, you may be asking?
In an age where it seems that to be educated means to be morally or politically outraged about something or in a constant state of alarm about the world around us, it’s a very nice Christmas gift for me to get compliments out on the streets of Suffolk from those who know the value of just being entertained every now and again.
So I guess it’s not complex thoughts that I seek to share but find the humor in the hectic everyday get-along of life.
Some might say I’m full of fluff and the simplistic, optimistic way I look at situations are foolish and naive. I can live with that assessment. But when I hear from Suffolkians that they enjoy it when I write about my love of food or just make them laugh from my unique ability to turn a phrase, I’m never prouder to be a fluffhead.
Because I know that in writing my column, I am hitting my mark — to make people smile, smirk or laugh for a bit. To me, that kind of response is golden.
So, my sincerest thanks to all of you who enjoy my column. Thank you nice lady at the Sugarplum Tea last Saturday. Thank you other nice lady at the post office on Wednesday. And thank you to the countless others who have come into our office this year to tell me they enjoy reading my column.
All these seemingly meaningless, yet entertaining little spiels of mine, are my Christmas gifts to all of you. And the approval I’ve gotten from all of you who enjoy my column is right up there with the finest gifts I will get this holiday season.
And I’d like to say that someday you’ll read a column of mine that offers you some religious, social or political position or opinion. But I sincerely doubt it. It is not an aspiration of mine. What is an aspiration of mine is to entertain the hardworking people of Suffolk, something I promise always to take seriously.
So have a Merry Christmas, Suffolk. I look forward to entertaining you with more of my antics in the new year.