Life is what you make of it so write about it

A friend and regular reader asked last month for some help in setting up a blog.

“I look at yours and I love it,” said my friend, a magna cum laude graduate of St. Patrick’s Blarney School of Praise and Adoration.

“When I compare my life to yours,” he wrote in an email for added emphasis. “I see myself as a person leading a life that’s fatally boring.”

How could I say no to that caliber of flattery? So, of course, I spent an hour or so sharing what little bit of blogging expertise I’ve acquired through trial and error.  Since then, it doesn’t look as if my friend has done much with his blog, but I could be incorrect. If he’s reading this, perhaps we should schedule another session.

First, however, the notion must be promptly dispelled that my life is exciting. As proof, I’ll point to two moments from Monday:

• Receiving a summons from the District Clerk of Court for jury duty beginning on Monday, May 4.

I’ve always kind of wanted to serve on a jury, but have never had the chance. Back in my days as a newspaper guy, I always assumed my never being summoned to serve was an occupational hazard.

In the years since then, I’ve been called once, but no trials were scheduled for that week. Only time will tell this time around and it may become a case of being careful for what I wish. Still, if called, I will serve to the best of my ability.

If nothing else, I’d find things about the experience that would be worthy of blog posts.

• Joining in with the joking and kidding around before work in the locker room at the YMCA.

It started when I left a bottle of body wash in the showers, a fact pointed out loudly by a buddy as I dressed at my locker. His comment prompted questions and other comments about my use of what someone else called body shampoo.

In self-defense, all I could say was: Of course I use body shampoo. You guys have seen my back. Heck, if not for chronic cheapness, I also should be buying conditioner.

Body hair shampoo and conditioner — does anyone even make such a thing? Maybe there’s an entrepreneurial idea on which I should capitalize.

Being a bald guy who has too much hair everywhere else is a topic I’ve written about in the past, so I’ll refrain from completely repeating myself. But it is a part of aging that’s a pain in the … backside. Another downside to being a bald guy are the very visible marks left whenever I hit my head.

But the upside to all of this is that everyone has a story to tell. Once upon a time, I knew of a newspaper reporter who each week randomly selected a name from the phone book, called that person and found something interesting enough to merit a story.

And here I am today, writing about back hair. My back hair. It proves my life is far from being more exciting than anyone else’s, including my friend, the Irishman who is trying to start a blog.

So, to him, I say: If you’re reading this, you have plenty of stories and the time needed to tell them.

Now go get to work.