I've been working on getting an amateur podcasting setup for awhile now. My speaking voice gets noticed here (I don't know why), and everyone says I should be either on the radio or start a podcast. Since I view radio as "so 20th century-like" if anything happens, a podcast it will be.

People always tell me “you always know just what to say.” But they don’t realize that that comes from a lot of listening, and having a mind that soaks up information like a sponge. You can’t learn if you’re not listening right? And if you’re cocky and think you’re “all that” your mind will be closed to new knowledge.

I’m definitely not like that.

With an inquisitive mind, there has never been a lack of "mind fuel" to come up with something to talk about. And that's the problem. I may seem more staid and laid back here, but off-chain, I can offer a tsunami of opinions due to being well-read on a variety of subjects.

First, LISTEN

I’ll never forget the time I overheard someone casually admit to being a prostitute. My head whipped around "this is new information” I thought, and waited to speak with them. Introducing myself (I wasn’t a customer), I was able to get them to take me back to how it all started.

See you have to know when to remain quiet and just listen, and when to prompt (without seeming to) with relevant questions, to keep the story going. At the end, I was told that it was the first time that they’d actually had someone hear them out without being judgmental.

How often do you run into an actual Satanist? I did, when I was in Job Corp. And boy you can bet that I wasn’t about to let that opportunity slip by. By then, my reputation for discretion had spread, and while reluctant, they eventually opened up to me.

That title "Satanist" is not necessisarily what they called themselves. I learned that there was a wide spectrum of nuanced beliefs among various people, to everything from stoics and wiccans, and all manner and shades in-between. Some were just dabbling in it, while others were not playing at all.

Part of why they opened up was that they knew I was a Christian, and I think there was some sort of irony in seeing the reaction from a believer.

But all I wanted was the information.

I learned about Babalon Working, the left-hand path, bloodlines (many were born into this), and much more. But here again, they knew I wouldn’t judge them and would keep their confidence. It was surprising to learn that not only students were involved, but also some of the teachers as well. But my lips were sealed then and still are today.

Nobody will talk to you if you run your mouth...

The Dignity Of The Person Is Vital

On social media, I've taken a political turn of late due to my strong sense of fair play and dignity for people going through hard times. It goes back to the economic scarcity we went through as children where my single mom had to struggle to raise five kids all alone.

As I got older, I never forgot that, and have always kept a place in me for those suffering from similar privations. I know that look that hungry people had because we went through it too.

It's one of the reasons why I insisted a woman with three kids get right back in line for seconds when given a paltry meal by the immature kids that served her at a soup kitchen. I walked her right up to the lunch counter: "Yes, she (and her kids) are getting seconds. and no, they're not waiting two hours out in the cold to get it." I made sure their plates were heaped high because... I knew...

Something To Talk About

But that's just one sliver of the many-faceted person that I am. Technology, history, culture, I could go on and on. All of them (and many more) speak to the things that I'm interested in, which is why I can write (or speak) on just about about any subject.

For instance, I like mountains and wild places, rugged seashores and urban exploration. I also have a thing for caves and God-only-knows what's down in the huge cave systems that we have here in the United States, some of which go on for hundreds of miles.

My favorite empire has always been Rome, but I'm also fascinated by the Byzantine empire and how they were able to keep things going on for a thousand years (until the betrayal of 1453), after the sacking of 'The Eternal City' itself.

True crime, shards of the paranormal and things that go "bump in the night" (I grew up in a haunted house). Everyone tells me that I should "go niche" but I'm curious about EVERYTHING.

And that dear reader, leaves me perched unsteadily on "the horns of a dilemma, with not a lack of ideas, but a rich bounty to choose from.

I suppose it's better than having no ideas at all, right? So in some ways its a good problem to have.

So while I ponder this, I'm going to continue diving into the life-giving waters of whatever interests me. And who knows, maybe, just maybe, I'll find that thing that "Rocks me like a Hurricane" and won't. let. me. go... Until I talk about it. :)