Believe it or not, this ain’t all that new.

Actually, this isn't my first blog. Ok, it may be time for a backstory. Out of High School, I was trying to find my place in the world and began hanging out with people who I thought were interesting and who had been around the block and knew things. One of those friendships who I gleaned from was the editor of the local newspaper. He set aside one column a week to write about the goings-on around town and to editorialize about events as he saw them. On the days that I would visit, he would usually be sitting at his kitchen table in front of his electric typewriter hammering out the next week's column.

Living in a small town and not having much material to work with, he would sometimes have writer's blocks and would be fretting about what his subject should be for the next edition. “Tell me, what’s a news consumer like you want to read about?” he would ask sarcastically. He understood the irony in our professions and friendship. He worked his local newspaper and I would work radio. We would sit till all hours of the morning throwing out ideas and having conversations. Sharing ideas and stories and thoughts sometimes until the next morning, when I would make my excuse and get up and go home. My mom must have hated those times, because I always reeked of cigarette smoke, even though I didn't smoke. I guess that's one of the reasons why I went into radio broadcasting. No other deadlines than the end of the song.

To be honest, I'm not a fan of blogs. But, here I am, battin’ the breeze, late at night, trying to fill up a page with thoughts and memories. Some would say that it hasn't really changed all that much from a newspaper column. Yeah. Yeah, it has. I feel that blogs have removed conversation. The new catchphrase is “start a dialog.” The Greeks had a word for that. “Baloney.” No one is interested in ‘dialog.’

These days, you can go online and read somebody’s opinion and either like them, or hate them. Notice I didn't say ‘Love them.’ Hate. Not their ideas or opinions, but them as a person. You've made your mind up already and not asked one question about it to try and understand. There is NO dialog.

The art of conversation is truly dead.

One of the many things I prefer radio over blogs is that radio paints a picture. Yeah, sure you can be a Hemingway and create pictures in your head with stories. But, how many Hemingway’s were there? One.

How many broadcasters are there that can do that and paint the picture with emotions?

Of relating a good story? Notice I didn't say ‘Telling’ a good story. Telling has no relationship to the listener. My newspaper friend could ‘relate’ the heck out of that in one column. I am surprised you made it this far. Kudos to you. Most would have given up or thought, “Oh, look at the old guy using a computer.”

So what do you know about me so far? I’m on the radio. I love music and some people are interesting. Interesting enough to ask questions. Enough to have conversations. Blogs ain’t new, but it might as well be.