Time flies....
Ok, maybe I was hasty in kicking this blog off in June. Foot surgery, dental work, a trip to New England, they all proved that straight paths in life are few and far between. As for plans, I once heard a retired military officer say, "Plans are guesses in party dresses." Roger that.
Enough with the excuses. Things are moving ahead. I'm working on a project.

Jack Igelman, an economist and writer contributing to Carolina Public Press, a North Carolina independent news nonprofit, and I are doing an audio piece on Graham County and the impact of

the revised Pisgah and Nantahala National Forest plan will have on the county. Graham is one of 18 western North Carolina counties affected. All have large tracts of national forest, and how the U.S. Forest Service decides to manage the land will influence local economies, growth and development.
More than 70 percent of Graham County is national forest. Imagine that you had a 10-acre farm and seven acres were controlled by the federal government. Graham leaders have every reason to be concerned.
Jack and I are talking with leaders and others in the county to get their views. As we work through the interviews, I'll keep you posted. There are some thought provoking issues that we've learned about. I'll write about one soon.
When the audio segment is done, I'll post it
on Sound Cloud. I hope it will be the first of many audio segments I do.

I thought I had retired, but....

Don't get me wrong, I like not having a job. But I miss work. Work gives me focus. Maybe that's why retirees volunteer at food banks and schools, teach reading and English as a second language. Or they take up a yoga or meditation. Without a focus, life is kind of fuzzy; you have a hard time remembering which day of the week it is.
So, I'm going back to work. But on my terms. No bosses. No set schedule. Nothing but the work.
The work is writing stories and making audio recordings. I've been doing this for much of my life. I was a newspaper reporter and university magazine writer; I've hosted radio programs and worked as a stringer for a local radio station.
Audio equipment is not expensive these days, thanks to digital technologies. A couple of good microphones, a digital recorder and a computer with an audio editting app get you in the game.
Being an old guy, business cards are part of my kit. I spent $15 at Staples for cards. On the front it says HearSay Media -- Stories written and recorded. The flip side has my contact info. Cards make people feel less hesitant to talk to me.

Now, it's time to get to work.
This blog is going to be my journal. I don't care if anyone keeps up with it. I'll also post audio from the projects I work on. And photos, too.