a foreward to 36 days:
for the next 36 days i will be posting excerpts from my time on the trail along with whatever information i think might be helpful in making sense of the stories and thoughts involved. day one included a foreward to the following pages and it should give you a decent idea of what my ideas were with keeping a journal. i’ll get straight to it to avoid repeating myself:
I am no writer, nor reader, of memoirs. If though, I were forced to pick between the company of a memoir or biography, 10 out of 10 would go to the memoir. A biography presents a life factually. Any life presented in that manner cannot help but be dull (at least to me, as i am not fond of facts for the sake of facts, but enjoy more creativity). As a memoir is first person, it cannot help but at times to be interesting, for who lives and doesn’t find themselves, at least on occasion, a good deal more interesting than is warranted. If I were to write a memoir I would certainly embelish at times to create some adventure…if only for the sake of the inevitably bored reader, and here is the difference. I am at liberty to do so. The biographer on the other hand must (or it seems ought to) be of singular mind when it comes to getting the facts straight. So, with six months at my disposal, and limited activities to keep my interest, I begin to set out my journey. Perhaps I will call it the “great adventure” or “grand journey” though these names ought not be taken seriously, because, as you know, I have promised embelishment.
now, as i am not setting out to write a memoir here or anything of much importance, the point was to get across the style of my writing. obviously my travels fell short of the proposed six month time frame but apart from that i still feel that it was a bit of an adventure…and i will do my best to make it sound so for your sake.
so stay tuned…get comfy, settle back, and the stories will start coming!
