Why audio blog posts?

I feel I must explain. Do I need to explain? I’m going to explain.

It might seem redundant to record my self reading my blog post, but I assure you it is not. Reading out loud has many benefits. None of which I will mention here. Okay, you’re right, I should mention them here.

I originally thought reading out loud was only necessary when reading poetry, Edgar Allen Poe or Shakespeare. Now I realize, reading out loud, is also good for the classroom, sharing a story with children, and cozying up with that special guy.

Rudolf Steiner believed that reading out loud was good for the dead, especially the newly passed away. It is supposed to help them or soothe them, as they make their way into whatever ethereal world they are going to next. I learned this from my Waldorf teacher training days, but there you have it – another benefit from the occult.

I first fell in love with audio versions of books when I was in college. I had moved from Hawaii to Colorado and it was a pretty big deal mainly because I had never been to Durango, Colorado prior to moving there.

I had chosen Fort Lewis College based on research only, and my love for the mountains of Colorado which I had seen briefly during a road trip. I was also pursuing a degree in anthropology, specifically archaeology, which FLC was well-known for. But all this seems secondary to the fact that I moved to a town that I hadn’t checked out first.

To be honest, I didn’t understand what the fuss was, but now that I’m older and somewhat wiser, I can see how that decision was considered brave and bold or stupid depending on how you want to look at it.

While many folks asked me why I was in Colorado when I came from Hawaii, I have to tell you that I had so many experiences living in the San Juan Mountains that I never would have had if I stayed in Hawaii. From getting my hunting license, learning to drive in the snow, skiing, hiking, whitewater rafting to road tripping.

Driving the American West did something to my soul and spirit – it’s the closest I’ve come to flying. The experience of being in an airplane, flying, isn’t the same. Flying doesn’t feel like flying. It feels like cheating with all the air sickness that comes with it. Driving, though, on the expansiveness, the openness, the wildness of America, feels like flying.

For my first spring break on the Mainland, my friend Sara invited me and another friend, Kara, to see her family in Tustin California. I was a little jealous of Kara, (I wanted Sara all to myself), but this trip from Colorado to California would prove to be a good ol’ fashioned girly time bonding trip.

After we had loaded her navy blue Ford Escort, Sara popped in the tape A Return To Love by Marianne Williamson, and told us to feel free to pause it whenever we wanted to say something, or if needed a break. I now associate road trips with therapy, Enya, classic rock, crying, bathroom breaks, and a lot of cigarettes.

While I usually read books, I sometimes like to listen – listening frees up my hands so I can crochet or do chores around the house. Listening gives my eyes a rest too.

I also remember a moment from childhood where cassette tapes of my father reading and recording his voice was found years after he died. When I asked why he did this, I was told he wanted to improve his English so he recorded his voice and played it back as a way to perfect his speaking skills.

And I remember reading somewhere that writers should read their words out loud as a way to truly hear how it sounds and catch mistakes. For editing purposes I did this, with the missing teacher manuscript, but soon I got tired and just wanted to edit quicker which led me to not reading out loud at all.

Then recently as I was asking a friend to edit my post, but then decided to read it to him, he suggested that I record myself reading. He liked hearing my personality. I told him I had made a few recordings already and that was the intent with my first book, but his encouragement reminded me of something I had already wanted to do, but had let go of.

This time though, I am going to start off smaller, simpler, with individual blog posts before diving into the daunting task of recording a whole book.

I hope you enjoy this journey as much as my mind. Thanks for listening.