Always looking for a better understanding of our socio-economic predicament, I can never manage to boil things down to an iron-clad, either/or choice between the conservative and liberal viewpoints.

I would not label myself a liberal per se, because I do not have an unshakeable belief in the steady march of progress. But then neither am I strictly speaking a conservative, since I do not pine for the ways things used to be.

‘Reaching across the aisle’ would be the political equivalent of what I am aiming for when I write, though my interests are not limited to politics.

As just another failed English major who left college in June 1973 after only one year of instruction, I make no bones about approaching all this from a layman’s perspective.

The lack of academic credentials can leave me punching above my weight on occasion, both culturally and politically. But I was taught a man’s reach should always exceed his grasp.

A life-long interest in art and song, history and philosophy informs my perspective, and makes me just delusional enough to think I have something of interest to say.

Unlike the talented professionals who dazzle on a regular basis, my output is sporadic. I always try to maintain a charitable tone, in the hope of sneaking a little light in where it is least expected, with a style I like to think of as practical poetry.