Digging in My Archives

I'm going through my old blog posts for a project I have in mind.  So far I've finished with the long-past year of 2006!

The toil has several unexpected side-effects.  For instance, I cried when re-reading my posts after my dog Hank died.   Those who leave holes in our hearts are always missed.

I also think I wrote better all those years ago.  Less condensed and more cheerful and less focused on Evil Questions.  So I'm trying to re-inject some of that into my posts now.  On the other hand, I'm older and wiser and have more scars than I did then.  Once burned, twice shy on certain topics and on blog wars and the like.  That's both good and bad, depending on the point of view but I kinda miss the early innocence and bubbliness.

A very interesting side-effect of this search will soon become evident!  I'm gathering some auxiliary material on a few NYT writers' opinions on women throughout the years.  The persistence of those opinions is something that I, at least, tend to forget over time.  Then I wonder why I detest some particular writer (coughDavidBrookscough) so very much!  My lovely archives show the strong foundations for that feeling!

I also noticed how very much time and effort I put on writing about people and events which are now completely irrelevant.  Politics has many ephemeral chunks.  Yet the articles on women, say,  seem still relevant to me.  That may support my decision to focus more on general theories and ideas than on the specific problems of a particular time and place, though I might be the only person moving my archive stacks of ideas.  Never mind.

Memory is a funny thing.  I read through long posts which clearly showed evidence of much research and thinking and had no recollection ever having written them, even though they clearly were mine and not by a guest blogger.  Yet some other posts I remember as clearly as what I had for breakfast this morning (nothing).

Is there any general point in this post?  Probably not, except that I'm beginning to appreciate those who keep a diary.  An external memory to stop that Memory Hole from sucking out so much of our past.