So, here goes

I may have finally entered the 21st Century. I have a blog. It may be a bit rough, but bear with me -- I'm new at this. 

One of the first things I should probably explain is the blog's title. As I was trying to think of something to call it, I was thumbing through a collection of essays by E.B. White originally published in The New Yorker in the 1930s, '40s and '50s. White was a longtime New Yorker contributor, the author of "Charlotte's Web" and the "White" in Strunk and White's "Elements of Style." 

 
An essay in the collection describes a letter he read in a newspaper by a gentleman called Gilbert G. Brinckerhoff. Mr. Brinckerhoff, a retired school teacher from New Jersey, makes the case that homeowners may, if they choose, decline to fight the crabgrass that invades their lawns and live quite happily. Mr. Brinckerhoff, apparently, had a lush, green lawn made up entirely of crabgrass -- one he was rather proud of. 

Not having to worry about the crabgrass was surely a relief. What enegeries Mr. Brinckerhoff must've been able to devote to other, more important pursuits. "Crabgrass," I can imagine he told his wife and neighbors, "is not the end of the world." 

The story reminds of one of my first nights working in a restaurant. I was waiting tables -- one of my first jobs in college. A more experienced waiter, while pulling hot plates out of the kitchen window and arranging them on a large tray, said to me: "Don't sweat the small stuff. It's all small stuff." 

The words stuck with me. To this day I'm not sure whether he meant the "stuff" that happens in restaurants, or the "stuff" that happens in life. The advice seemed a bit odd, coming from someone who had spent his entire adult life serving burned steaks and greasy hamburgers at bars where NASCAR Sunday was treated like a religious holiday. Perhaps that's a clue to its meaning, or its scope. 

But I've always wanted to believe it was a little deeper. Yes, the stuff that happens while waiting tables is small stuff. But the stuff that happens in life is sometimes the stuff that can't be ignored. I guess the secret is knowing the difference. 

So thank you Mr. Brinckerhoff. Thank you for knowing the difference and helping to teach the rest of us.