Then I woke up.

But I know what prompted the dream: yet another hermit researcher found this blog and hoped for an interview with a “contemporary hermit” including a visit to “the hermitage.” I suppose that’s what I get for being a peculiar being.

After the first request, I expanded my About page in hopes of disqualifying me from any further research. But it turns out one big attraction to many current researchers is how the internet has improved the lot of us hermit-types, allowing us access to the world with only a minimal amount of live interaction required. (Which is true for everyone, not just hermits – so, duh?)  But apparently the new About page (which includes a reference to our online business) only exacerbated the researchers’ curiosity, even though I was trying to clarify the fact that although I value solitude, I’M MORE OF A HERMIT WANNABE than a real hermit.

So, theoretically, the internet is creating more hermits per capita. Therefore, my participation shouldn’t be necessary for the research, anyway. Right? But, according to one student, many [smart] hermits who are active online use pseudonyms, and are thus more difficult to track down. I thought about using a pseudonym before I started this blog and probably would have were it not for the admonitions of my blogging coach, Steve Mays. And I’m not really trying to hide – I just prefer not to be found. There is a difference and it’s a difference which I felt (at least initially) justified using my real name.

Generally, these student requests do give Griz and me a good chuckle though. After all, successful hermit research has got to be a bit difficult (if not downright risky) for obvious reasons: notoriety and company are anathema to the motivation and lifestyle of most hermits.  But even though I appreciate the humor of these contacts, my gut reaction still leans toward using the queries as an excuse to delete this blog and retreat from blogging all together.  Anyone who follows this blog  knows I often hang in by a fragile thread.

Actually, I am not opposed to answering students’ questions via e-mail, provided the researcher volunteers some verifiable references about who they are. But requests for a live interview and visit feel a bit presumptive and invasive given any hermit’s preference for privacy and solitude. To quote myself from an earlier post:

“Hermits (like sasquatches) are also unlikely to aggregate in quantifiable numbers near universities, so valid hermit research becomes even more problematic. I have no doubt one could recruit a few rugged grad students to scour the hills for rumors of hermitages. But even if the grad students find the hermits – how happy do you think the hermits will be about it? (See my post on curmudgeonly misanthropes here). I assure you even the happiest hermit can put on an unhappy face in defense of his privacy.)”

Fortunately, Griz and I have a locking gate, a good security system and (WARNING, WARNING) are well-armed and firearm proficient. We aren’t hunters and we’re actually more pacifists than big gun advocates, but we are practical. Calling 911 is one thing, expecting a timely response out here is something else entirely. The fire power is a solitude and self-sufficiency thing.

Maybe I’ll create a FAQs page here to help out the students. I am a big fan of higher education, though admittedly some avenues of “research” (and research grants) leave me metagrobolized.

And until we find a trap baited with a good bottle of riesling, chocolate and a cheese plate – or we notice someone constructing a blind with telephoto lens along the property line, I guess we don’t have too much to worry about.

Our evergreens, many of them 50 and 60-year olds, are great for the year-round privacy we value; but they do deprive us of those unobstructed sunsets so everpresent in our sailing days. When you live aboard on the West Coast, you are often a part of the sunset. I do miss that.

Such is the nature of life – there are always trade-offs to be made.

Hermits Probably Shouldn’t Blog…

But I’m a hermit - by temperament and lifestyle. I’m an introvert, reclusive – an orientation not considered quite “normal” in our society.  I value privacy and solitude – A LOT.  I don’t dislike people and I don’t intentionally hide from social interaction, but I don’t invite it either. I find the quiet of “aloneness” restorative. I lead a contemplative life. You won’t often find me at “the party.”  I live in the woods. And as much as I enjoy my life, I find it difficult to imagine anyone else being particularly interested in it.

It could be said that I don’t technically qualify as a hermit because I have a life-partner of long standing.  But he is also a hermit. We were lucky to have found each other. (Without the compensatory hormones of youth, hermits would have gone extinct long ago.) My partner and I have a profound mutual respect for each other’s alone time. We lived on a 37’ sailboat together for many years and discovered ways of maintaining that respect even in such a confined space. You learn to sense when the “walls” are up and you don’t intrude. It’s part of our unspoken contract – the hermit’s code.

And doesn’t blogging invite the WHOLE WORLD into dialog? I have an introvert’s resistance to that invitation. You can’t expect the WHOLE WORLD to know the code.  In cyberspace, once the “walls” are down – can they be re-erected?

…But Writers Probably Should Blog.

But I do consider myself a writer even though writing has been an avocation so far. I have one unpublished book taking up storage space and two books underway (one to perfect, one just for fun). I write poetry and lyrics every once in awhile just because the words arrive and need further play. “Getting published” is, of course, a goal; but I am wise enough (and know myself well enough) to value the writing for its own sake, not necessarily for the financial outcome.  I often write to achieve clarity – more self-dialogue than public statement.

Ernest Hemingway said “Writing, at its best, is a lonely life” and ultimately committed suicide, possibly as a result. But the “lonely life” holds great appeal to us hermits. My ideal scenario would be to write a book, select a pseudonym, hand the project off to an agent or publisher and be done – back to the woods.

But no post-print involvement by an author – particularly a new author – is a thing of the past. Blogging is a tool I need in my arsenal – a utility in support of traditional publishing; a back-up plan if traditional publishing doesn’t work out; or a way to balance that pursuit of clarity with the satisfaction of being heard.

Blogging Hermit  – an Oxymoron?

I’ve played with micro-blogging on Twitter for several months. I enjoy the exercise even though I’m following and followed by very few (and I like it that way). Twitter seems a fine venue for musings with no place in “the big projects.”  But 140 characters per post feels just right, as does keeping the followers/followings to a quiet simmer.  More than 140 characters may exceed my comfort zone. My contentment with few followers contradicts the whole blogging culture, doesn’t it? Who checks their stats and then celebrates low numbers?

But I’ll ease into blogging – slowly,  while I finish up book project no. 1 – perhaps a post or a photo a week, categorize the endeavor as a fun experiment – a variety of play. By the time anyone finds my blog, it will probably be time to close down the experiment or relax into it. I have an open mind. I may discover that blogging is the perfect venue for a hermit. After all, it can be done while hiding in the woods.

I expect fewer than 20 people to read this post. But to the 10 of you who have made it this far, I promise all future posts will be much shorter. This is just the set-up. I’ll be saving words for the book projects. I hope to avoid blogging about writing – or writing about blogging. Both are well done by others. But I will report on my evolution as a blogging hermit – or hermit blogger. That is, afterall, the gist of the experiment.

And if I’m lucky, by the time I need to know what I’m doing – I’ll know what I’m doing. (All widget, plug-in and better-blogging advice is welcome.)

Is there such a thing as a tentative “GERONIMO?” Another hermit would, at least, understand the question.

Forward all blame or credit to smays.com.