Used Words

I sit here, looking at the blank screen, on which I'm supposed to use the keyboard to type things that, as I say on my twitter, are the things I think about. No one wants to read about how I am having a hard time thinking of topics to entertain myself and the reader. I don't want to just throw down words of which I don't know enough about the subject, as I did with the water conservation topic I covered last week, but I am also too lazy to research anything to inform the people. So I think I'll just bullshit my way through this one...

I had a thought. Sometimes after I read something, especially from a physical source, like a newspaper or a magazine, I feel like the words are now used. And anyone who reads that paper after me will be reading used words. Like if I hand the paper to my usual weekday coworker, and she reads an article, then I read the same article, those are used up words. I can't give her the highlights of the article, because she already read it, so why do I bother? If I don't read a section of a the paper, I feel like those are wasted words. They were printed because they felt you should read that. You should know what they had to say or report on. By not reading the Local and Business section, I am neglecting the writer. This is not true, some people I'm sure only read that section, as that is usually the part that actually pertains to peoples lives in the distribution area, assuming there wasn't some really big news that would place the story on the front page, or main section. Sometimes I decide to read it, but mostly I'm ready to move on to video games or whatever after i finish the main section. When I do read that Local section, though, seems that I usually find a bit of information in that section that I'm really glad I read, or else I would have missed out. I need to do a better job on that section from now on. I don't want those words to go unread. I don't want to hurt their feelings.

But seriously, I always felt like, when in a waiting room somewhere like a doctors office or something, when you read the crumpled weeks old copy of US Weekly or People, that you know those words have been read by a whole bunch of people. It feels like the thrift store of words. You know they were used, because they look used, but you don't really know by how many. The thought scares me a little. You are not the first to discover these words, specifically. They're used, and it's old news.

I wonder if a writer knows how many people will read what they are writing when they write it? I know that there will be...oh, say, 5 people reading this. Tops. I know that I can just write whatever, and I don't mean to get all hostile but, I like that you people are reading this and all, but I don't care if you do or not. I just like to write words, man. I'm going to write it anyway. That's it for me. I like it because I get to put thoughts down onto digital whatevers. If you like it, I appreciate it. You would have never made it this far if you weren't mildly interested, right?

Thank you for using these words. They feel the love.