What the world needs now is another blog, sweet blog, and not just any ordinary blog.

 

You went back and sang it after the “sweet blog”, didn’t you? Not sure it’s true, but here goes.

With apologies to Seinfeld, it’s kind of a blog about nothing. Maybe stuff I’ve learned in 72 plus years.

At the same time, at the request of my oldest daughter, some of this will be about things I’d like my grandchildren to know. Not sure I’m up to that kind of responsibility, but I’ll give it a shot.

Oh, the name. Three Fingers Back comes from the old adage that when I point a finger at you, I'm pointing three back at myself. Another version of that might be that we are most critical of others for things we are most guilty of ourselves.

Here’s a little about me:

I grew up in rural Montana and spent 25 years in the San Francisco Bay Area. My wife and I retired to Nine Mile Falls, Washington (near Spokane) nine years ago. Most of my Montana and Spokane friends seem to consider me pretty liberal. Most of my SF Bay friends would tell you I’m pretty conservative. No, I don’t think I’m bipolar, nor do I necessarily know what conservative vs. liberal really means these days, but we seem to have to label people and it is what it is. I’ve been fortunate enough to travel to all 50 states and four continents. Some of that travel has had a profound effect on who I am. We’ll talk more about all that later.

Diane and I have been married for almost 35 years. (My mother would be astonished!) She is my third and final wife. In my first marriage, I managed to help create three remarkable human beings. While my pride in them is immense, the credit for their character and competence really goes to their mother. My second marriage we’ll just leave as an historical fact. We’ll talk more about some of that later.

My only academic credential in the world is a BA in Anthropology, but I also got enough accounting credits to sit for the CPA exam. Passed it the first time, which is a good thing because I wouldn’t have done it again, and wouldn’t put in my two years of indentured servitude to put those magic three letters after my name. Along the way, I also turned down an Electrical Engineering scholarship to MIT. We’ll definitely talk more about all that later.

I seem to be a pretty capable problem solver. Most of the time complex problems break down into simpler parts that are then more easily understood and solutions become visible. I am, however, terrible at maintaining things. That’s probably from a short attention span that would indicate a lack of maturity. I love projects that have a beginning and an end, but if it were up to me to close the books every month, after about the third month it wouldn’t happen. It also tends to make me a serial hobbyist, but I always come back to photography, woodworking, and ham radio. Give me something to build, something to learn, or something to fix, but don’t give me something to maintain. I’m sure all that will come up one way or another later.

I’m a follower of Jesus. My theology is pretty orthodox Christian, but Christian literally means “little Christ.” I may strive to be that, but fall so short most days I hesitate to take that title. I will confess I also hesitate because of the association it has today with the Religious Right. My life verse is Micah 6:8: “… but what does the Lord require of a man but to love mercy, do justice, and walk humbly with his God.” I also believe you should never build a theology on one verse. I find Christianity is also a worldview that makes the most sense to me. I’m sure we’ll talk much more about all that later.

 

I love getting to know people and understanding what makes us do the things we do, think the way we think, and fear the things we fear. Every one of us is created in the image of God; so each of us brings something of value to the table, and it’s thrilling to discover what that is. And as my dad used to say, “If any two of us are just alike, one of us isn’t necessary.” We’ll probably talk a lot about all of that later.

So that’s some of what influences me. I’d say, “Aren’t you glad you asked?”, except you didn’t. 😊

 

I have no schedule for publication for this, but do expect it to be somewhere between weekly and monthly.

Thanks for joining me on this adventure. I’ll do my best to make it worth your time.