Back in the early 80s, in the days before we had access to the Internet, I played the game Diplomacy by mail. That's right, mail, not email... There were hundreds of fan moderated 'zines which would run and adjudicate games for a nominal fee. I subbed to several of these, and always had a few games going.
One of the 'zines was called "Sleepless Knights" (I think I'm remembering this correctly) and was out of Anchorage, Alaska. The guy running it -- Jim Meinel, if my memory is still working correctly -- asked if anyone would be interested in writing a humor-related "subzine" to run inside the main 'zine. Being a college student with too much time on my hands, I volunteered, and the subzine "Galimatias" was born. I chose Galimatias, for it means "gibberish," something I was good at spewing. So I sat down and, monthly, put together a 1-page rag on an electric typewriter. Yes, you read that correctly -- I had an Atari 800 at that point, but not printer, as it was only for playing games! In my initial issue, I found "zyzzyva" in the dictionary (a paper one, not online!) and wrote a story around that weevil of a word. It's always stuck with me as being an odd, yet fun word.
Fast forward to 2005 and I decide I want to open my own blog on CSW. I need to choose a title, and all blogs are listed alphabetically. So, being me, I decide to go last. Zyzzyva is perfect. Coming here to blog, I was torn between Galimatias and Zyzzyva, but since I like to have the last word, Zyzzyva won out.
OK, where am I going with this, and why? Well, I'd like to have a place to write about fun (and some not fun, I guess) "stuff" in my life. A wargaming bulletin board turned out not to be the place to do it. So here I am.
My wife, Deanna, told me something right before we got married that has always pleased me. She said (paraphrasing), "Many people say they don't care what others think about them, but you're the only person I've ever met who truly means that." And that is, simply, how I've run my life. There are people I like, people I don't like, and people that I'm ambivalent towards. On the surface, as a human being, I hope that anyone reading this gets some enjoyment out of it, maybe finds a common bond somewhere. But, bottom line, I've gotta admit, this is for me, plain and simple. It won't hurt my feelings if every visitor leaves bored out of his/her mind (or if no one visits at all!), nor will it stoke my ego if every visitor finds Zyzzyva a place where the cool cats hang out -- I'm not like that. I do hope that, over time, we get some fun "things" going here, but if this remains my own private palette, well, that's OK too. And this has nothing to do with being self-centered -- I'm as humble and unassuming (though not to be confused with meek, as that's something I'm not) as they come and I'm just out to enjoy life, at least what's left of it.
Thinking along those lines, I'd go back and be 16 again. A lot of folks wouldn't, but I would. It would be a hoot to live through the years again, knowing what I know now. Something I'd start in my early twenties (or maybe even before) would be writing. I've gone through a few children's novels (the whole teaching angle, I guess), being pleased with none, and ending them with their destruction. A new one has been percolating, perhaps writing here will give me the kick in the pants I need to try again, as it is true, one is never too old.
Finally, a public blog like this opens the soul. I want to do that, to the extent I can, remaining heedful of my position as a teacher. So if I ever do choose to hold back, it will only be because there may be certain topics I wouldn't want a student of mine stumbling across with my name attached!
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