This Is the Other Story

This Is the Other Story · 25 May 2019

I am finally getting around to telling another story. But it is not one of those other stories that I have so often said was another story.

I did a word search on my blog posts and found that I have used the phrase, “But that is another story,” over thirty times. That might not seem like a lot in over five hundred posts, except for the fact that I have only told the other story one time. (see Writer’s Diarrhea) That is not very good odds of getting another story. So I thought I ought to tell the other story. After all, writing a weekly column or blog is like having a contract with the readers. They expect something every week. Rain or shine. Hell or high water. Get that writing out there. Period.

Or something like that.

I know. The few real and imaginary readers that I do have would probably not feel cheated if I skipped a week every now and then. If I just posted a picture of the words, “Gone Fishing” sometimes. If I went on vacation without having something ready to go while I was gone. Then again, they might feel relieved. After all, they could stop reading for a while and then never come back. Which is one of the reasons I do not stop. I want to make sure anybody who feels obligated to read my blog does not have a reason to stop. (Which is not really another story, but this feels like the right place to say, “But that is another story.”)

So while I am not really writing one of those other stories I seem to promise with those parenthetical words, I figured maybe one day I ought to explain those misleading words. So here goes.

I actually intended to write another story the first time I used the words, “But that is another story.” In fact, I had great intentions of writing that other story right away. But something else came up that was more relevant or timely so I wrote about it. That was way back when I was just writing one day a week. Back when I was not really committed to this whole writing thing. Even though I thought I was.

Like I said, not telling the other story happened a fair amount of times (did I say thirty?), but I liked to write the words, “But that is another story,” so I kept using it as a literary device. I kept promising another story without delivering. Not a very nice thing to do. But it was a useful and fun literary device.

Which is about all it is now. I sometimes have a different story to write when I say, “But that is another story,” but usually I just have a quick thought that only has a little to do with the topic of the day. Or maybe just something peripheral. Surely something that would not warrant a full blog post.

And that is about it. That is why I write those misleading words.

I will still use the words, “But that is another story,” and I will still not often give another story. Right away or anytime in the future. But at least now, I can put a link to the words and point my readers here so they do not feel cheated when there is no other story. Or maybe I should have just a one sentence post to point to. A post that says:

Sorry, but there is no other story.

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