Who Am I? & Who Are You?

To-day we have naming of parts. Yesterday,
We had daily cleaning. And to-morrow morning,
We shall have what to do after firing. But to-day,
To-day we have naming of parts.

from the poem "Naming of Parts" by Henry Reed

       Halloween is still on its way, but that can still wait for a while. I am going to get to the topic eventually and further clarify "why" the topic of "Halloween". But that is yet to come. For now I want to give some further clarification about who I am and what I am doing.
        Here are some parts of who I am:    writer, speaker, entertainer, music lover, collector, husband, father, grandfather, friend, traveler, seeker of truth and wisdom.  This is just a limited view of my fields of interest and pursuits in life.  In the "Tossing It Out" blog I will be using these aspects of my background as touchstones for my topics.  Indeed, I will probably be going way beyond all this, but these "parts of who I am" are the initial things that come to my mind. And now I will break some of this down.
       I am a writer.  I am writing this blog.  I have not yet published a book but I am working on this.  I have had a few articles appear in various sources. But for all practical purposes virtually noone has heard of me, the author, yet, although I hope that this will be changing in the near future.  Writing has been a passion since childhood but it seems like I have always pushed this behind me in order to pursue other things. Have any of you had similar experiences  -- with writing or perhaps something else that you have dreamed about?  We all know in our hearts that it's never too late to pursue our dreams.
      I am a speaker.  I talk to people. I haven't presented seminars or done any circuits or anything like that.  But I have presented to smaller groups for business and educational purposes. Some of the folks who have heard me have told me that they have enjoyed my presentations and encouraged me that I should be going out and doing oral presentations for a living.  I am going to be pursuing this. Years ago, I originally attended college with the intent of becoming a teacher.  I don't know that I'll necessarily be going back to this plan, but something along this line might be good. Nothing like a captive audience. Even better would be an appreciative audience that really wants to hear what I have to say. 
      I am an entertainer. In my previous post I mentioned how I worked professionally as a juggler.  In fact I grew up in a family of jugglers.  We worked throughout the U.S. performing our juggling act and had a pretty decent reputation in our field. For many of my adult years I toured with stage productions not only juggling, but also performing magic, acting, singing, and playing the violin. Now I'm not a great violinist by any means, but I was at one time a member of the musicians union in Richmond, VA when I played a stint in a dinner theater bluegrass band.  That means I played professionally. Maybe I was mediocre, but I was getting a paycheck.
      I am a music lover.   I started playing the violin when I was about 9 or so. I started because I loved music. It's probably something I picked up from my parents. Music was always part of our home life. Later I began acquiring records of music I liked, then cassettes, and later CD's.  I like most kinds of music and give just about anything a listen. Music is the soundtrack of my life. Yours too probably.  Think about the last time you went grocery shopping.  What was playing in the background?  I'm almost positive there was a soundtrack to your shopping experience.  Unless it was in Costco or someplace like that.  Now that would require some arena style sound equipment.  Hmmm-- now appearing at Costco:  JOURNEY... or maybe the Costco Symphony Orchestra.  Maybe I'll go back to that topic someday.
     I am a collector.  Besides my collection of recordings I have stamps, postcards, books, videos, DVDs, among other things.  None of it is very organized. Not really a catalogued, well displayed collection. My wife looks at it as more of an accumulation of a lot of stuff.  So okay I'm a packrat. But it's always a challenge trying to figure out what to get rid of and I can't bring myself to just chuck it all like my wife would like to see.  After all my collection represents much of who I am and what I value.  What do you the reader collect or value?  How do you deal with your accumulations of "stuff"?
     I am a family guy.  Read husband, father, grandfather, sibling, et al. I enjoy my family as most of us, if not all of us, should.  I'll also add friend to this category.  I have a lot of people that I consider to be friends even though I don't spend much time with any of them. My people, friends and family, are scattered all over the country so I don't see them much, but when we get together it's good and none of them are ever far from my thoughts and prayers.
     I am a traveler.   Not world traveler.  I have been to Canada and Mexico, but otherwise I've never left the continental 48 states.  That's okay by me. I love the U.S. and I figure I could spend the rest of my life traveling around this great country and never get tired of it.  Too many interesting places and people. I don't travel as much as I used to, but the road keeps calling me. Must have been the bug that bit when I was growing up and that show biz lifestyle I was living when I was working on the road.
      I am seeker of Truth and Wisdom.  Am I alone in this one?  Of course not--most of you are with me in some form or fashion.  As far a my personal journey, I am a Christian and a lover of the good ol' U.S.A. I read and study the Bible regularly, but also try to stay informed through many other sources.  There's just not enough time in the day to travel this road, but every day is a new opportunity for learning and experience.
      So here you have some of the parts of who I am.  It doesn't end here of course. There are many other facets of me.  And as days come and go so I grow. Hopefully I will grow better.  And hopefully you will like who I am?   Who are you?