The Orange Highway

There are no accidents, particularly on the Orange Highway.

Case in point. Naming this blog.

I had been wanting to start a blog for some time now, and actually had one a few years back. I think I gave it up after one entry. What is it that Mark Twain said about keeping a journal? I paraphrase here, but something like "It's worth at least a thousand dollars...when you get it done."

I think my last blog had something to do with living life in a mediated society, but, of course, it was not called Life in a Mediated Society. I forget what it was called -- probably an artifact of living life in a mediated society. Information overload and a memory that is not what it used to be. But I do recall I was talking about something else. Namely, naming this blog.

I did not want a name that married me to one topic, as that would be too limiting. Right now I just want to write. About whatever. A lot about life, yet hopefully not just about mine.

The first couple of names I came up with were already taken. The first choice was "ready to wear," which was the name of an old online magazine I had back in 1996. It actually got some good reviews and the site won me a bit of notoriety, but I gave it up to go to grad school and get me a PhD in history. It's hard to read 600 books, hold a full time job, be a dad, and edit an online magazine. So I said goodbye to rtw and hello to a fancy framed degree that adorns my wall and proclaims my expertise in American history.

The next choice was also taken, but it could not have been very good as I can't even remember what it was. The third choice came from my son. I was thinking of famous expressions and he offered "Look both ways." I actually liked that, as it really seemed to fit a moderate like myself. However, at the last minute he told me to go with a name I had said earlier in the day - The Orange Highway. "Pick that dad," he said. "Nobody will be using that one."

Now, this is where it gets kinda' weird. I'm not sure if this would have happened had I typed in any other name, but after hitting the continue button, I noticed the labels box at the bottom of the edit window. Among the examples of potential labels was "scooter," a rather odd word, at least in comparison to the the other two more common ones - "vacation" and "fall."
But it's not the rarity of the word as much as how much that word fit me. I've owned a scooter since 1992, and currently ride one of those big, highway-ready maxi scooters. Since May 2008, I've put over 6,000 miles on good old Bluebie - my affectionate name for the blue Yamaha Majesty 400.

So what? Well, I take it as a sign that this is the right name and the right time for this project. Of course, I really am not sure if I believe in signs. There are accidents and there are coincidences in this life and lots of things that seem to hold meaning really have only the meaning we give them. But scooter? On my first blog edit window? Oh, come on!

Even if chance rules over destiny, I'm all for feeling good about choices, and anxiety-ridden enough to know the value of anything that helps one stay committed to ones ideas and ideals. So it's the Orange Highway for me. Whatever that means. By the way, there is a story behind that name, but that's for another time. If there is another time. A blog is a valuable thing...when you get it done.

BTW: If you like this spot but forget to bookmark it, you can search for it under the labels "accident," "coincidence," "media," "Mark Twain," and, of course, "scooter."