Tuesday, October 20, 2009

What IS "flotsam"?

According to dictionary.com the definition of flotsam is:
1. the part of the wreckage of a ship and its cargo found floating on the water. Compare jetsam, lagan.
2. material or refuse floating on water.
3. useless or unimportant items; odds and ends.
4. a vagrant, penniless population: the flotsam of the city slums in medieval Europe.
Also called flotsam and jetsam (for defs. 3, 4).
For my purposes, however, it refers to whatever thoughts meander along my stream of conscientiousness. Theses may indeed be wreckage, refuse, useless or unimportant, or odds and ends. Most times they could not be considered vagrant nor penniless, although I am occasionally cash poor. My interests at any given moment may include: interpersonal relationships; archeology; my need for sunshine, but not neccesarily heat; faith or lack of faith; music; a personal relationship with a loving God; travel; personal responsibility; photography; critters in general, and my dog specifically; the meaning of dreams; world citizenship; children, especially the munchkins I care for; books I've read, as well as authors I've enjoyed; day to day junk, and probably a whole lot more. So, on any given day, or for that matter, on any given moment, I may choose to expound on one of these or countless other topics from a position of personal opinion I am not highly educated, but I do have opinions. Unlike my former sister-in-law, who (proudly, no less) proclaimed, "I know nothing and I have no opinion". At age 50, I thought it was time she got some! I have opinions, but do not think of myself as opinionated. Perhaps I'm wrong. There is a tendency in my birth family to be somewhat stubborn, but I like to think we out grow that as we mature. Still there are times when I am convinced I am right and those times can be difficult for the people around me. I will make every effort to be kind, but may fail from time to time. I hope you will come along as we ride the river of my mind and encounter whatever flotsam and jetsam stray into our current.

2 comments:

  1. Yaaaay you're up and at 'em!

    Congrats on your first post my dear!

    Watch out, blogging is addictive... ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  2. JM! Hope you post again someday, I love reading you :)

    ReplyDelete