A Self-Aware Story

Yeah, Another Blogger

I’ve been turning out essays and humor pieces on these pages for a long time, since April 2015 to be precise. And though my production rate has slowed down considerably over the years, and especially of late, I remain in the game. I have no plans to permanently stop putting fingers to keyboard, though that intention will be dashed — duh! — when the Grim F*cking Reaper decides I’ve been occupying space above ground for damn well long enough. The truth is, I get a kick from laying down words, partly because the writing process often enables me to discover or discern what my orientations, views, likes and dislikes truly are. In other words, I’ve learned quite a bit about myself as a result of creating content for Yeah, Another Blogger. And so, I’m nothing but glad that my wife Sandy encouraged me to revive my writing career by starting a blog (YAB, you see, isn’t the first outlet in which I’ve published stories. Many, many moons ago I was a freelancer for The Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper, covering the arts and pop culture). Thank you, Sandy, for getting me back on track!

Here’s part of the lowdown about yours truly: I came of age in the hippie era, and the good vibrations in the air back then permeated my mind and emotions, shaping the way I approach the world. Ergo, I’m fully in favor of peace, love, understanding, equality, tolerance and kindness. And for just about all of my adult life I’ve sought the company of beautiful creations in both the natural and man-made worlds, and have engaged in a pretty steady flow of colorful mini adventures.

Before Yeah, Another Blogger was birthed, did I pay attention to those facts, which to a significant extent define me? Well, I did. Not profoundly, though. My makeup, however, began to become clearer and more obvious to me by virtue of the types of stories I found myself drawn to write for this publication, and by the writing process itself. Shit, writing doesn’t come particularly easily to me. I have to strain my brain big time in order to turn out most pieces. The straining, however, often results in my slapping myself upside my head and thinking, “Hey, right! That‘s what I believe. That‘s what I like to do. That‘s who I am!”

And so, it isn’t by accident that Yeah, Another Blogger, which largely is a personal narrative, overflows with ruminations about and examinations of subjects and activities I dig: sunsets, flowers, my on-foot escapades and explorations, music, TV series, foods and beverages, and quite a bit more. Still, this website isn’t strictly about good stuff. I’ve tackled problematic issues too, those I feel I can discuss without getting in way over my head.  And on a fair number of occasions I’ve torn into those whose value systems and actions offend me deeply. My main target has been the riot inciter, con man and convicted felon named Donald Trump.

The big question nagging me, however, is this: Does any of what I’ve stated above matter? By straining my brain for a while, I came up with an answer. And the answer is yes.  The more we know about ourselves, the better, I think. We can work on our faults only when we are aware of them. And when we recognize and understand our positive sides, we gain confidence and interact with the world more fluidly and productively. Planet Earth is in a sad state right now. It sure can’t hurt when as many lights as possible shine within it.

158 thoughts on “A Self-Aware Story”

  1. Alyson's avatar Alyson July 17, 2026 / 7:49 am

    I think blogging is a really worthwhile occupation, for all the reasons you state above and also for the discipline of finishing something ready to be seen by the outside world. I enjoy the subject matter you return to time and time again so… more please.

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  3. Paula B's avatar Paula B July 17, 2026 / 5:52 pm

    Your last paragraph is so good and insightful that no comment of mine would add to it. I can only say “Bravo.” You matter to many people.

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  5. Pleasant Street's avatar Pleasant Street July 18, 2026 / 10:56 am

    I dig sunsets and flowers too. I hope they never go out of style. Yes, this world is in an evil state, but it has been for centuries. It is up to us to shine God’s light in it. Thanks for your transparent and lovely posts about lovely things

    I didn’t come of age in the 60’s but I was born in the 60’s so a little rubbed off on me

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    • Yeah, Another Blogger's avatar Yeah, Another Blogger July 18, 2026 / 3:08 pm

      Hello there. The hippie era lives on in a variety of ways. It impacted the arts, pop culture and lifestyles a lot. Those were the days!

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  6. Platypus Man's avatar Platypus Man July 24, 2026 / 11:30 am

    It was interesting to find out a bit more about you. Keep on blogging, my friend!

    Liked by 1 person

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    • Yeah, Another Blogger's avatar Yeah, Another Blogger July 25, 2026 / 11:24 am

      Hi. Like I mentioned in the article, my production rate has slowed down a lot. But I’ll keep writing.

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  8. immveltman's avatar immveltman July 25, 2026 / 3:41 am

    it does matter. I forgot how much I loved writing until I restarted. thank you for this post. Love from London ❤ Thank you Sandy!

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    • Yeah, Another Blogger's avatar Yeah, Another Blogger July 25, 2026 / 11:22 am

      Hi. Thanks for dropping by. Yeah, I doubt if I’d have started writing again if Sandy hadn’t nudged me to give it a try.

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  9. shane harrison's avatar shane harrison July 25, 2026 / 7:25 am

    Keep on keeping on, Neil. Happy to see you were an arts and pop culture correspondent with the Inquirer. Me too with local paper, the Wicklow Times. My xxharrison blog keeps me going too. Write on!

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  10. alhenry's avatar alhenry July 25, 2026 / 10:47 pm

    Wow, Neil, it’s always amazing when you discover more, something deeper about someone you’ve known for years. Well, known without actually meeting. And yet, I think someone’s writing is perhaps the truest mirror of oneself. Anyway, I knew we both came of age in the era of Love & Peace, civil rights, all the good and hopeful stuff, but I was surprised to learn we both started blogging in 2015 (August for me). That we’ve both freelanced as journalists. Nice to know more about you. Thanks for sharing. And keep going. The world needs every good-hearted, caring person it has.

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    • Yeah, Another Blogger's avatar Yeah, Another Blogger July 26, 2026 / 8:12 am

      Hi, Amy. Truer words were never spoken: “The world needs every good-hearted, caring person it has.”

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      • alhenry's avatar alhenry August 1, 2026 / 10:53 am

        Neil, my latest post just dropped this morning (August 1). If you tried to read it, but it said “password protected”, that was a glitch which I’ve fixed. There is NO password one needs to use to read it now (as always). Thanks.

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  11. Ann Coleman's avatar Ann Coleman July 26, 2026 / 12:58 pm

    I couldn’t agree more, Neil! Self-discovery is important, and so is honestly sharing the very best of ourselves with others. That’s what can make the world a better place. Thanks for sharing yourself with us all these years through your blog!

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  13. ckennedy's avatar ckennedy July 26, 2026 / 2:55 pm

    Well said!/Written! Yes, in writing, we start to distill our beliefs–and in reading, too. Thanks for this post!

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  14. denisebushphoto's avatar denisebushphoto July 28, 2026 / 11:23 am

    I’ve enjoyed your blog and writing style from the start, I think! It’s been great to know you in some way through your blog. Keep it going for sure!

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  16. stargazer's avatar stargazer July 29, 2026 / 3:59 pm

    Of course it matters! Clearly a lot of people are reading your blog, but I also think the enjoyment of writing matters. I recently wrote a post after a long break and remembered how much I enjoy blogging.

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  17. andrewcferguson's avatar andrewcferguson July 30, 2026 / 11:10 am

    Hi Neil. 100% it matters. Putting one word after another in a vaguely pleasing manner is at the root of everything we do – and blogging, for me as for you, is the ultimate in self-expression, in the sense that you can write whatever the hell you want to write about, in whatever way you choose, and in the process find people of like mind.

    More than that, as I may have said before, writers write to make sense of the world around them, spinning stories to themselves (and sometimes others) about the way things are. In my time I have (modest) success with poetry, short fiction, even a novel, as well as more technical legal books. They’ve all taught me something about the craft of writing, but all I’m really interested in writing now is my blog and songs.

    Keep rockin’ on, old-timer!

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  18. cincinnatibabyhead's avatar cincinnatibabyhead July 31, 2026 / 2:10 pm

    As long as you are still hitting the keyboard I’ll be tuning in. When you were doing your “freelancing” thing, did you ever run ito Pete Dexter? Curious. He worked for the Philly Daily News.

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    • Yeah, Another Blogger's avatar Yeah, Another Blogger July 31, 2026 / 4:36 pm

      Hi. I never met him. But I read his columns sometimes. He used to hang out with a boxer named Tex Cobb at Dirty Frank’s, which is a dive bar. Dirty Frank’s is still in business. I haven’t been there in ages. One of these days I’ll go there again.

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      • cincinnatibabyhead's avatar cincinnatibabyhead July 31, 2026 / 7:30 pm

        Cool. I think they both got beat up at Franks (or another bar) by some locals who took offence to one of his articles.

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  19. alhenry's avatar alhenry August 1, 2026 / 10:55 am

    Neil, hope you got my message. I see it posted as a reply to our July 26th exchange.

    Liked by 1 person

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  20. K. Ravindra's avatar K. Ravindra August 2, 2026 / 9:08 am

    Your blog has had me hooked since the very beginning — I really love your writing style. In a way, it’s felt like getting to know you through your posts

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  21. debscarey's avatar debscarey August 14, 2026 / 4:38 am

    Neil, I’m not sure how I managed to miss this the first time round, but I’m jolly glad to have found it. I came to writing late, unlike yourself, but have found how much it helps me to formulate my thoughts into coherent order, as well as getting stuff out of my system (although I don’t always post those, just rage write!)

    So, yes, in my humble opinion, writing matters. The words of one person can make another person think about things in a new way, or reach someone when they need to feel less alone. Our words can allow us to work through all manner of issues and difficulties on our own, or to share our joy in the simple things of life.

    Words matter and so writing matters. And long may that be the case.

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  22. Rama Arya's avatar Rama Arya August 22, 2026 / 6:12 am

    Absolutely love this post! I agree, writing helps us discover ourselves. Seeing an idea become a tangible piece. Creating order out of chaos. For me, every time I write, I am closer to me. 🙂

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  23. rkrontheroad's avatar rkrontheroad September 6, 2026 / 10:39 am

    Of course it matters. I so enjoyed this piece. And I’m with you, having reached my formative years during the hippie days and appreciating art forms. Thanks for this one.

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