Life Beyond Dogs

A reader from the U.K. writes to ask what I do for a living.

Not sure how to answer that. I talk, I write, I give my opinion, same as a lot of people who do nothing so useful as resoling a decent pair of shoes.

I have been useless for better than 30 years for a variety of causes. No, my job is not one that calls for a lot of sweating, though I have to say most days I feel a bit pounded at the end.

I guess the point is that I have a real life and not just this silly little blog and web site. In fact, this web site and blog grew up only as an excuse to learn how to code HTML. Still learning on that score!

On the upside, the blog and web site get about 3,500 visitors a day with occasional spurts above that, and the total count is now north of 3.1 million visitors since I put in a counter three years after the start.

But the blog is simply a small side car as it should be.

My real life is a wife and two kids (now ages 25 and 23), a full time job, a large yard that needs occasional work, a couple of dogs that I hunt regularly, and occasional nattering side things such as speaking engagements or a little tinkering.

I send about 50 emails a day, I get about 200 emails a day and, thanks to Google Reader, I patrol about 150 web sites and blogs on a daily basis.

I generally get to work before everyone else, and most of the time I am the last to leave. I always have at least two weeks of "use it or lose it" time at the end of the year. My aging-in-place parents live about three blocks from my office and about three miles from my house, and I talk to them at least three times a week. I struggle with my weight, same as you, and I try to get to the gym three times a week, not always successfully. I miss my hair. I have more chins than a Chinese phone book. I wish I had more time to fish.  I am learning to call turkeys.

Like everyone else in the world who is a responsible adult, I try to keep the cars running and insured (there are four cars, thanks to the kids) the light bulbs changed, the refrigerator stocked, the lawn mowed, the laundry done, the bed made, the socks matched up, and the dry-cleaning picked up. Thank God the wife does the finances.

I read a lot, and not just on the Internet and not just public policy. In recent weeks I have clipped through Walter Mosley's All I Did Was Shoot My Man, John McPhee's The Pine Barrens, David Quammen's Natural Acts, Peter Allison's Whatever You Do Don't Run, and John Kallas' Edible Wild Plants, as well as a few light-but-fun reads such as What Would Keith Richards Do? by Jessica West and Where the Hell Am I? by Ken Levine.

At various times I have been called an expert on U.S. immigration policy, an expert on fraud and white collar crime, an expert on Social Security and Medicare, an expert on demographic change, and an expert on illegal drug markets. I think the word "expert" is being thrown around a little too cavalierly. Everyone is surprised to learn I know anything about dogs.

At various times I have served on nonprofit boards including an adoption agency and a think tank. At one time or another, I have appeared on everything from Good Morning America and Crossfire to NPR, the Sally Jesse Raphael Show, and Hardball With Chris Matthews talking about everything from adjustments made to the Consumer Price Index to U.S border security, and from the Bernie Madoff fraud to retirement policies in Chile. I spent a few years helping push through the largest land conservation effort in U.S. history. Last week I was quoted by the Associated Press and The Washington Post, this week, USA Today. So what? It's all fish wrap, background noise and static.

I am constantly amazed by two things: the Internet and the unbridled talent to be found all over this great country. Nothing is as humbling as going to YouTube and watching the failed acts from "America's Got Talent," or downloading a very good book from a no-name author being sold for $1.99. Check out the photos on Flickr and the crafts on Etsy. Amazing!

There's more to my life, of course, but really who cares? No one! Your stories are as good as mine, and probably better if you have lived a bit longer. All real experience is a very good story.

As always, close the farm gates on your way out, don't break down the fences, say thank you to all those who help, follow directions, and keep your shovel sharp. We're all just schmucks on the bus, doing the best we can, and it's never a good idea to judge people by their haircut, their clothes, or the money in their wallet. If your life is good, credit your parents, and if it's a mess change the way you do business.

Above all, remember to take care of the land; God's not making any more of that.
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