Inspiration

Blogs. You either love them or you hate them. But do you read them? If you're like me, you probably have several that you visit frequently and every now and then you actually stop and read what has been posted but mostly you are attracted to the photographs. After all, something has got to get your attention and a good photograph will do the trick. Every now and then I come across a blog that I actually do read and enjoy immensely - it all has to do with good writing and if your style speaks to me I'll return time after time after time. People write blogs to have an outlet to express their opinion, a way of creative expression or to promote themselves. You name it and I'll bet there's a blog about it.

One of my favorite blogs is Exit133 - a local blog focusing on the doings in the where I live, Tacoma, Washington or as it's described on the home page "Exit133 is about Tacoma. It's about Politics, Civic Involvement, Urban Development, the Arts, and the many interests of our readers."

When ever I visit this blog I make a bee-line to the blog posts of "Mise en Place" written by John Idstrom. He writes about one of my great passions: food. His writing style is engaging and clever - and it conveys a wicked sense of humor and is a joy to read. In short, I'm in love with his writing and jealous of his skills.

Here's a passage from one of my favorite posts - it begins like this:

"Norman Maclean opens his full-of-grace novella “A River Runs Through It” with the beguiling line “in our family there was no clear line between religion and fly-fishing.” Having recently driven Route 200 in western Montana, skirting the Big Blackfoot River that was Maclean’s spiritual inspiration, I had the opportunity to consider that opening line, as well as his summary judgment “I am haunted by waters."

and then ends like this:

"Salvation is a tricky issue and if you are like me, the lines are seldom clear. We all find our own road to get there and some of us take a more circuitous route than others. But we’re all saved by grace one way or another, however that may find us. I am haunted by food." -- John Idstrom from "Mise en Place: Confessions of a Food-ophile"

If only my writing skills were on par with Mr. Idstrom - the words I could write, the ideas I could express, the stories I could tell. That is my dream.