I've both praised and lamented my penchant for procrastination. I've said it before, one or two of you may remember, when my family was young and growing, in the days before Perma-Press, I tried to keep ahead of the ironing while the clothes still fit anyone I knew. This rule also applied to my mending, but later I appreciated the blessing implicit in neglect. After a move when it had taken me some time to get around to unpacking every box, I found one that had been pushed into the corner of a high shelf. I opened it to discover clothing that needed mending and what a pleasure it was to realise that it didn't fit anyone!

Something similar happens when I open file folders or a box of tear sheets and clippings and stuff and find that I can without a single stab of conscience throw out a lot. Coupons are among the most carefree discards. I look at the expiry date and toss. Lovely! Expired deadlines on contests also relieve me of guilt when I pitch them. That's what I encountered the other night when I spent an evening poking around in mainly obsolete information. But the blogs were still valid, I'm happy to say.

And that's my first blog, with thanks. It's a blue-ribbon, timeless, valuable blog. Isn't that nice?

Here's a bonus, also timeless, a found piece from I-don't-know-where.

The middle name of Edgar Poe is Allan -- "a" not "e".

Finnegans Wake, for heaven's sake, has no apostrophe.

Ellison's Invisible Man does not begin with "The".

Dwight Macdonald's name uses lower case for "d".

If you'd succeed with Wilfrid Sheed, "f-r-i-d" is the key.

Upper case and lower case with cummings -- his decree!

And here's one they didn't include: Dr Pepper has no period.

Now that's a blog!