Testing, testing...is this thing on? Can everyone hear me?

Well here goes. I have tried to deny my inner blogger for several months now, but I am weary and can't fight any more. So let's rumble. I have to admit, the main reason I've hesitated entering the blogosphere is pride and selfishness. I've been a lurker on countless blogs and have seen the ways the comments are often used to attack both the blogger and other commenters. Since my earliest memories, my greatest fear has been the criticism and unfavorable opinions of others. When I know people don't like me or don't approve of me it eats at my insides and keeps me up at night. So I suppose this exercise will be partly thereapeutic in exposing me to that which I fear the most. It's kind of like taking an agoraphobic to a shopping mall or taking a Florida State Seminole to a Policeman's Ball. So really, the title of my blog, "Nothing to Prove, Nothing to Lose" is less a reflection of my current disposition than it is a longing...an attitude I hope to cultivate. Feel free to stop by often. Leave your comments. Be honest. Be gentle. I can't promise that you'll find anything groundbreaking or mindblowing. But hopefully you'll hear the ramblings, humor, and thoughts of a guy who lives by the immortal words of a legendary animated presidential candidate, "We most move forward, not backward; upward, not forward; and always twirling, twirling, twirling towards freedom."

Dave