Hello World!

 I remember sitting in my 8th grade social studies class.  Wow!  That was, when?  Way back in 1976?  Yes.  1976 in a small rural town in the Pacific Northwest with a total population of, maybe, 8,000 people.  I remember very little else of my classes in those days.  They were a blur.  I hated middle school or junior high as it was called back then.  I do remember this class, though I don’t know why this particular class should have been so memorable.  The teacher was pretty much like all my other teachers, the days in this class fairly non-eventful, but as the years passed there were things that this teacher mentioned that caught my attention. They caught my attention at the time that he stated them in class because they were really crazy thoughts.  They maintained my attention over the years, because all the predictions I can remember came to pass.  He mentioned a number of trivia items regarding the future demographics of our nation and some of the technological trends that were then being predicted.  At that time, television was still in its infancy, rotary telephones still existed, stereos consisted of the individual components and vinyl records were still around. I am not sure, but I think this might have been just about the time or slightly before the 8-track tape made its fleeting appearance on the technological scene.  My 8th grade social studies teacher made the comment that in my lifetime telephones would eventually have the capacity to talk to the person while viewing them on a screen, like a television.  I remember thinking how really amazing that would be, and I remember being very skeptical about the reality of that ever happening in my lifetime.  My thoughts exactly? “No way!”  But I moved on from that class filing those class discussions away and not thinking of them again until years later as each of the predictions I remembered, came to pass. But back then I wasn’t so concerned about any of these preposterous predictions, I had life to do, high school to endure and college to enjoy.  Hello World!

It was almost another decade and I was entering my final days of college when the word processor debuted.  It wasn’t long after that when the home computer replaced it.  Now, with cell phones, the internet and webcams we definitely have the capacity to talk and/or type to someone while viewing them on screen…even if they are on the other side of the world.  The technology is truly incomprehensible at times and the fact that we can reach others on the other side of the world by pushing a button on a machine still blows my mind.  Hello World!

Other changes occurred over the last thirty years that weren’t mentioned in that classroom, but which are still as powerful and mind boggling as the predictions that were discussed.  The internet, for one, and its capacity for putting us in touch with endless quantities of information.  Wireless capabilities which allow us to create and carry that information with us everywhere we go.  It used to be a very expensive and cumbersome activity to record visual images onto film, but now with the advent of digital technology anyone can record a home video on a device that fits in a palm.  And, home videos aren’t for home anymore, they are published for the world to see and enjoy on such sites as MySpace and YouTube.  Hello World!

After all the years passed, the predictions became realities and the road from that 8th grade Social Studies class leads me to this digital home here.  The place where the unthinkable once again occurs.  Where once only the select few and dedicated could publish and only after many heartbreaking rejections now everyone can become an author.  Where once only could an author be read but not necessarily easily responded to, now author’s gain the privilege of having their audiences talk back to them.  And that audience could be next door or halfway across the globe.  Hello World!

If you’ve meandered in off the digital streets to find this little place of mine, welcome!  If you’ve been expressly invited by me, welcome!  This is CAB’s Place!  This is my little place in the digital world where I set out to make reality of one of the dreams I’ve had since before those 8th grade class discussions.  That dream was to one day become an author.  In many ways, for the world to invent the webcam was an easier task than me overcoming all the doubts and fears I had to address before even being able to share my writing, let alone put myself out there in any kind of public forum or manuscript.  But, chicken as I was, I did it.  Here I am, a writer in progress.  I welcome your comments, your insights, your feedback and your respectful criticism of my work.  It will benefit me greatly in my growth as a writer to understand the reactions of my audience to my work.  My topics will be many and varied as I’m trying my hand at many different aspects of the craft right now.  Join me in the journey, interact with the posts, and leave a comment.  Welcome to CABs Place and…Hello World!