Are those crickets?

Hello - everyone?
Nick, my favorite brother-in-law (just checking to see if Ben and Abe are reading) has emailed, gratefully, to let me know he has linked my blog to his so he can remain apprised of my welfare, and the welfare of my consumables. I am thankful to him; I spent the morning heckling my Mom about not reading this blog, she claims to be just "catching up". I have threatened to tuck pokes, insults, and family secrets into these essays. If you see the occasional barbed remark directed, one could only assume, at the person who raised me, know that I assail in good fun. That is, if you are even there, if you are even reading. Are those crickets I hear?

You see, I don't know what's going on out there, what's happening, if you will. I get the occasional email outside of the "Comments" one can post below. But the readership is largely silent, perhaps stunned mute. But once you recover, you can talk to me, and to all the rest of the presumed readers, through the Comments posting below. You don't need to identify yourself,
though it would be great if you did, say, if you were a brother-in-law trying to get back in my good graces. Or my Mom, because I am one of those people: When my Mom tells me she loves me, I check it out.

So, let me know you're out there. Take those first keystrokes into the blogging kingdom. It won't hurt. It's a short step, it's like figuring out a new restaurant: You know, you figure you might not want to go somewhere new (Zelda's), because you know the way your old place moves (Aidan's, now defunct) and you just don't feel like dealing with a whole new thing, you are used to an old way. But you're nearly all the way to indoctrinated, now. And you know what? It could be fun, it could lead to eating. And what's better than eating?

We could be decent to one another, you and I and the crickets. Maybe we'll learn something from each other. Maybe we'll have some good times. I don't know, we'll just meet back here, no matter how far away you are tonight, like Japan, eating miso soup, and we'll have our new thing:
a group that eats food and is decent. Good days ahead, crickets, yes sir, fine, fine days.