MetAmusing

“Yuck” you might say, as so many people have said, “this isn’t a book of poetry, is it? I hate poetry.” I said that too, back when I was young. If those are your first reactions, relax! No, this isn’t a book of poetry. It’s first a book of ideas and observations—thoughts on some very weighty topics, down to topics which matter very little at all, except they’re intriguing and hopefully often amusing (though I would never claim to be a comedian).This brings us to the title, MetAmusing, which certainly needs explanation. I might have tried another “lighter” title, except this one so precisely describes my purposes (as I’ll explain below) and was almost given to me—it popped into mind one day as I thought about what I was trying to accomplish and played with the original words:Meta (beyond, transcending, more comprehensive, self-reflective)Muse (to think or meditate)Amuse (to cause to laugh or smile, to entertain)Shoved together, these words formed a new one which means, since I get to define the word I invented, “to ponder, with a sense of humor, the things which matter most.”Back to the first “loaded” word I mentioned, “poetry”—I have to confess, though there are several short stories and simple commentaries, more of the MetAmusings included in this book are in poetic form. But please don’t get turned off expecting “high falutin,” frill-laden, sickly beautiful, often confusing writing. It’s just that as I thought about the topics, and then tried to write to share with you, the words flowed out poetically. I don’t know if I could have said some of what I’ve said in any other way.Then there’s the fact that I can say way too much, or struggle to say things quickly enough (like in this introduction), and poetry forces me to be precise, to pack a lot into fewer words. See,…