I’d like to wish Plainfield View a happy first birthday – its first post was September 5 of 2013. It may seem odd to speak of one’s own website, or blog, as a separate being, but from my vantage point it sure feels that way. To me, it seems like it has a mind of its own.

Sure, I am the one who crops the photos and checks the grammar – with some oversights, as my email subscribers know – but it feels like Plainfield View does what it wants. Like it tells me what to do.

“Get down to Seidler Field with your camera,” it has said on a lazy Sunday morning as I watch Netflix. “Now you know anything can happen at a City Council meeting,” it reminds me as I eat dinner on many a Monday night. “Mr. Rogers can be hilarious, David! Make a cartoon!” it has urged me.

I usually listen. After all, the blog’s demands are only based on the circumstances that unfold around me in the city, country, and planet. It’s intentions are just, trustworthy.

Sometimes, though, Plainfield View requires that I write a long, quality rant only to have second thoughts when it’s time to hit the publish button. “It was a good exercise though,” the blog consoles me after two or three wasted hours.

During some stretches, the blog demands seven posts in as many days, while at other times it skips five or six. “We aren’t obligated to post,” Plainfield View reminds me. Yes, we.

Don’t worry about my mental state. I’m fully aware that all of this plays out in my own head. Amongst all of my interests and concerns, the part of my mind that writes this blog really does feel like a demanding, unpredictable friend. In return this friend allows for therapeutic self-expression and an opportunity to contribute to the fabric of the world around me.

While I have a lot of ideas for the next year of Plainfield View, it seems to follow its own course of action based on a host of factors, many of which are far beyond anyone’s control. In reality, I have no clue what is coming. But when Plainfield View calls, I plan to keep picking up the phone.