Clarifications & Disclaimers

I've been asked (please don’t make me swear to this) if the posts of my columns [new columns will begin appearing April 8] on this blog will be identical to what is printed in the Crescenta Valley Weekly newspaper each week.

Actually, yes. And no.

Yes, many of the columns posted here will be virtually word-for-word accurate with the printed versions that litter the streets and gutters of the Crescenta Valley communities served by the newspaper. No, however, because my intent is not to simply archive every column I write.

For example, when I post a column that has been written to specifically address a topic or concern unique to the Crescenta Valley area that I live in, I’ll try to revise or edit the piece for a broader audience. Make sense?

Also, many times I write about a subject that winds up being well over the 650 word limit imposed the print-version of my column. While having to write and edit to a rather concise word-count is a worthy challenge for any writer and learning to tell a story or argue a point in a page and a half is great for honing one’s writing chops – sometimes I just want to say more on any given subject.

This online platform will allow me to do that and frankly, I can’t wait to play out a little more leash on some of my thoughts. Better brew up a few extra cups o’ the bean.

I’ll also be able to post random and sometimes ridiculous (maybe even redeeming?) thoughts or links or comments as they happen to be relevant to whatever’s going on in my life, the life of our country, even our planet.

Wow, heavy.

One more thing: If you do happen to want to read or even compare the original versions that are written for print, you can always find them online at: http://www.cvweekly.com/. But I’ll warn you: the official newspaper web site only seems to archive columns for a month or two at most. And that’s another reason why I wanted to have my own place to archive columns.

We creative types are such control freaks, y’know.  

Welcome

Welcome to the new My Thoughts, Exactly blog. Having written well over 150 weekly columns – first for the now-defunct Crescenta Valley Sun newspaper (owned and killed by its dysfunctional parent, the LA Times, which also owns the Glendale Newspress, and the ... oh, never mind), and then the CV Weekly newspaper (published with great pride and at equally impressive expense by Robin Goldsworthy, the former editor of the former CV Sun paper), I knew there had to be a way to keep these 650-word (give or take a few) musings “out there” for anyone who wanted to read them at any given time.

After all, I realize that not everyone has a CV Weekly paper thrown onto their driveway every Thursday morning. Heck, even I don’t have a CV Weekly paper thrown on my driveway every Thursday morning and I’ve written a column in the dang thing since its debut edition. To be fair, I live on what’s called a “flag lot” with four other homes that share a common driveway. One other neighbor actually has a paid subscription to the paper and the dear woman is well into her eighties. For some reason, the folks who deliver the paper in the wee hours of Thursday mornings are unable to throw more than one paper onto a single driveway – no matter how many times they’ve been admonished to do so by the powers-that-be at the worldwide headquarters of the publishing empire affectionately (and legally) known as the Crescenta Valley Weekly.

Anyway, back to my neighbor. I’ve watched her take the better part of a morning to shuffle from her front porch down the end of the driveway to retrieve her paper. So believe me, I’m not going to be the chuckle head who takes the lone copy of the CV Weekly that is delivered to our collective driveway. Beside which, the paper is available free of charge at many retail locations throughout our fair Foothills community – places such as Starbucks, Walgreen’s, all of our supermarkets and many other places. In other words, my neighbor’s paper is safe.

Where was I? Oh, right. I’ve long wanted an online place to archive the My Thoughts, Exactly columns that is easily accessible, searchable by key words, and managed by yours truly rather than a pimply-faced, I.T. mole web-master at the newspaper’s home office. (Not that I’ve ever even seen the aforementioned I.T. nerd, er … person at the paper – but you know what I’m getting at.)

And so … in addition to posting my latest column on the Friday after it has been published in the CV Weekly (if you want to read it the same day it’s published, you’ll just have to subscribe to the paper), I also have every intention to post lengthier versions of my columns as time and thinking permit – along with unpublished (at least in newsprint) columns or posts that may not be appropriate for my regular weekly column in the newspaper. I’ll also throw down the occasional odd or random thoughts and comments as they occur to me and as I think someone may be interested in reading.

Stay tuned. Check this space often. Tell a friend. Please.