I’ve written for First Draft since 2009 but my life as a blogger began on 12/29/2005. I waited to write this anniversary post to get 2026 off to a rousing start. I’m unsure if this qualifies, but it’s all I got for you.

Here’s the entire text of the first post at my eponymous solo blog:  You Gotta Start Somewhere:

I have no clue as to what I’m doing with this blog but that never stopped me before. But I do know what I’d like to say in this blog: I find myself living in interesting times in a very interesting place; post-Katrina New Orleans. I’m a community activist and I try to have my hand on the pulse of the community, not always successfully, but I try. In short, I want to comment on what’s going right and wrong here in New Orleans. Sometimes, I’ll comment on the news of the day; other times, I’ll post (hopefully) pithy essays about life here in Debrisville. And other days, I’ll comment on stuff from the great big world outside of NOLA.

Why the name Adrastos? Well for one thing, it’s a name out of Greek mythology and I’m half Greek. The name means “not inclined to run away” or “undaunted.” That pretty much sums up life Uptown right now: as bad as things get here (and with the clowns who govern our city, it gets pretty damn bad) I remain undaunted and determined to hold out until things get better. And they surely can’t get any worse. Hmmm, that sounds like a Beatles song but then I often view the world with music on my mind and on the tip of my tongue. Music, movies, literature, history, politics are some of my passions as are Ms. Adrastos (Dr?) and our fine feline friends. But I’m not writing this blog to talk about my personal life for as Charlie Rich would surely say at this point, “No one knows what goes on behind closed doors.”

Yes, folks, I like to ramble but it’s my blog and I can ramble if I want to. I usually overedit my writing but I plan to just let it rip on this blog. Consider yourself forewarned.

They say that forewarned is forearmed. I don’t know who they are but apparently they say that.

When I started blogging, I thought it was a hobby that might last until New Orleans achieved Gamalian normalcy. Twenty years on, I’m still at it. There were many other New Orleans bloggers back then, most of whom stopped writing long ago except on social media. That’s a poor substitute for writing. It’s more like graffiti.

I dislike social media for what it has done to our politics and blame it for the dumbing down of our discourse. I mostly use social media to publicize First Draft. Otherwise, it’s a vast wasteland full of people who make everything about themselves. The Kaiser of Chaos was not the first Twitter narcissist but he’s the worst.

Repeat after me: Government by tweet is for twits.

There are a few things in the OG post that I don’t do now: I rarely use NOLA or call my wife Ms. Adrastos, she’s Dr. A all the way. New Orleans is no longer Debrisville, it faces a different set of challenges but not a threat to the survival of our city. Mayor Teedy has been a disaster but it’s nothing compared to the corrupt and incompetent reign of C Ray Nagin after the storm. Recent transplants don’t get that but then again, I don’t get them.

Would I still be blogging if Athenae hadn’t invited me to join First Draft? I think so but First Draft gave me a bigger megaphone. I cross-posted to my eponymous solo blog for a while but gave that up when blog-city shut down. It’s okay: I’m more comfortable in a band than as a solo artist.

I chose Root Beer Blues as the featured image because it epitomized the state of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and the Federal Flood. It was the event that changed my life. It made me who and what I am on New Year’s Day, 2026.

In the immortal words of my favorite Beat poet Robert Hunter: What a long, strange trip it’s been. The last word goes to Grateful Dead: