Hey there.

No rant, no doom and gloom, no off the wall political prognostications, no outrage – not today. Many of you who are members of this site know that I have been writing for the front page since the latter part of 2005. I’m not the BHITP here (Big Human in the Pond) just a sidekick, because this is Booman’s blog, not mine, and for most of you he is the reason you stop by and read the content on a regular basis. We’ve had other front pagers over the life of this blog, better writers than I for the most part, but for some reason I’m the only one who has stuck. Call me one one little noodle on the ceiling of the Great Spaghetti Monster’s Kitchen, if you like.

I’ve been fortunate to contribute my two cents worth on a variety of matters during that time, and on my schedule, too (I always hated deadlines anyway). My stories have been posted uncensored and unedited (well except for the occasional spelling and grammar errors that I didn’t catch myself – thanks Martin). For everyone who enjoys my forays into the world of the progressive blogosphere, my thanks. For those who do not, well, that’s fine, too. I know better than most my flaws and faults as a political commentator.

Some of you (those who pay attention to such things) may have noticed that I have been posting here sporadically at best for the last – oh, six months or so. Many of you are also aware that I struggle with a rare chronic autoimmune disorder. I’ve spoken about it often, but if you are unaware of my condition, I’ve written about it on and off, usually in the context of our “greatest on earth, bestest ever” health care system. Here’s one with as good an explanation as any of my illness and its symptoms. There have been times in the past when I have had to pull back from writing for this blog for health reasons. This is another one of those times, I’m afraid.

My condition has been gradually worsening for some time, and the medications that I’m authorized by my insurance company to take – the main one being prednisone, a corticosteroid – have been less and less effective, and thus provide me with less and less relief. Prednisone, unfortunately, also has a number of negative side effects, among them mood swings and irritability. Time spent dealing with my health concerns, as well as my role as a caretaker for my disabled, cognitively impaired wife and as a stay at home father for my teenage daughter, have taken their toll on my ability to contribute as frequently as I did in the past.

As always, whenever this happens, I am deeply conflicted. I love being a part of this blog, and I am deeply and passionately concerned about the many issues we, collectively, as citizens of this country and the world, are facing in these ever more troubling times. However, when I am honest with myself, I have to admit that my recent writing on political matters has not met the standard of quality seen in my past work.

The stresses in my current life situation have had a deleterious effect on the my physical health and psychological state. My concentration and focus, whenever I write about current affairs, has diminished and it shows. I do not have the energy to fully engage the issues that concern me, and I lack the ambition to consistently provide a quality “work product” for you to read and hopefully discover something worthwhile. Hell, the rambling and disjointed nature of this post is a good example of my recent decline as a writer.

To be clear, I haven’t abandoned writing for this blog. However, I did want to explain the reasons why my name is not appearing as frequently at the top of the front page here as it once did. I will continue to post stories as long as Martin is willing to grant me that privilege, but for now those occurrences will be fewer and farther between. After my daughter goes off to college in the Fall, perhaps my stress level (one of the main triggers for my illness) will decline, my health issues will improve and my participation here will again increase. That’s what I’m hoping for, anyway.

On a final note, I encourage anyone who has an interest in writing for Booman Tribune to contact Martin directly. There are many good writers among the denizens of the Frog Pond, and I’m sure he would be more than willing to consider adding new people to the front page, since he has done so in the past when an opportunity has presented itself to him to add good writers with distinctive and fresh voices. Just click on the contact button in the Menu box that appears on the upper right hand side of this page. It certainly can’t hurt to ask if you have the itch to try your hand at this sort of thing.

Well, be seeing you (that’s not a good-bye I’ll have you note, just to be clear).