Wannabe aficionado and connoisseur of ev-er-y-thing.

I believe that enlightenment is best achieved when we engage and explore alternative points of view, that we should form opinions and convictions empirically, and that we should tender our perspectives without apology. They are merely what we believe to be true at a given point in time and subject to change. That’s how it works when we continue to grow.

Early in 2016, as 45’s political shenanigans were unfolding, long-dormant emotions and sensibilities awakened in me, and I felt compelled to engage. Although I was an adult, I was reluctant to voice my opinions because I feared that, if pressed, I couldn’t back them up and I didn’t want to assert my ignorance.

First, I needed to figure out where my give-a-shit factor was on stuff. I found I have an abiding regard for embracing diversity and inclusion, the import of the phrase “you do you”, a the premise “I’m Ok, You’re Ok”, and the precepts “Do No Harm” and “Leave No Trace”. Those revelations are my foundation.

Writing forces me to scrutinize my stuff, gain a better understanding, and hone my perspectives. With ruminations complete, and ethics and legalities considered, I had informed opinions, some actual convictions, and was finally ready to be part of the greater discussion.

I'm a free-thinking 60s-era poet who believes that health care is fundamental to both life and the pursuit of happiness, that liberty has to be color-blind, and that we can never trust big business to choose our country's best interest over their bottom line.

I never pigeon-holed myself as a Democrat or Republican prior to 2016, but the abhorrent words and fascist actions of 45/47, along with his intolerant and emboldened far-right racist Republican sycophant cronies during these last ten years, have made me proud to be an outspoken woke liberal activist.

My poems are primitive, frank, and relatable rhymes that depict life’s circumstances in the raw artless tenor of our times. They are profoundly personal expressions, as are all forms of art, and ask only to be perceived without bias or critique. I have no illusions about my significance or the impact of my work. Nor do I apologize for its tenor, or fret over how others might judge it, or me for it. To do otherwise would inhibit free expression, and a reticent self-conscious poet is doomed to an uncreative and unproductive melancholy.

Naively, I hope my writing fosters awareness in the innocent, enlightenment for the ignorant, and clarity of conscience in the culpable.

Ridge