First timer...here goes nothing

My first entry, and I am terrified. I am not a 20-something who lives to stay in touch 24 hours a day. I am a dignified (okay, my husband would laugh at that) and often socially awkward Boomer who hates to use the phone and who needs a valium just to make small talk with strangers.

Why am I doing this? To be relevant, perhaps. To quell loneliness. To feel young! To prove something. Who knows? To blog was a nagging itch -- and now I am scratching it. It is a bit of a mystery to me. I make my living researching and writing, but the narcissism implicit in blogging has been beyond my experience, other than sharing personal ruminations via my Editor's column years ago when I headed up a direct marketing magazine.

But here I go!

First, I should explain the title of my blog: TanksPanky. I grew up in an era when the Little Rascals/Our Gang series was on morning television all the time. The well known "tanks, Panky" line delivered by Buckwheat (at least I think it was Buckwheat) in so many episodes of that series just naturally became part of my everyday vocabulary -- part of my personal lexicon, I suppose. I wanted a name that would be catchy and appropriate to my experience. Plus, I thought it would be a good signoff for each entry. Instead of "thanks for your time" or "thanks for reading."

I don't have much to say yet, so I am wrapping this first post up. I got my feet wet.

Tanks, Panky