Why create and maintain a web site?

When I first started documenting building the RV-9A I would have said this web site existed so I can meet and communicate with other RV builders. I might have added it was also a fun way to document the construction process. Both answers are true but neither are complete. Allow me to digress a bit and share a recent insight. It may explain why I really have this site and why I take the time to keep it current. If I'm right it also explains a lot of other seemingly unrelated things about humanity and what we value.

Take a moment and think about mankind. Try and imagine the breadth and depth of the cultural differences that exist throughout the world. Consider different civilizations and cultures, different ethnicities and religions, and how over time and distance there are radical differences in education, mores, beliefs, world views and yes, even family values. Yet for all the differences I think there's one thing that binds us together and shows how very similar we really are. We all love, respect and usually reward a skilled story teller.

Clearly in American culture today the story teller takes on many forms. Usually, the best ones are well compensated for their product. I'm not talking about just the obvious book authors and playwrights that spin tales. Most of us are story tellers at least part of the time. Lawyers weave tales about both their clients and their clients opponents. They use the same facts to tell very different stories. Jimmy Buffett uses songs to spin tales that millions of us can somehow connect with. If you have ever made a grant application, applied to a college, or interviewed for a job you were a story teller. In each instance you were also competing against others telling their story. Your success and compensation depended on your story telling skills.

Keep that thinking cap on for another minute or two.Why is television so popular when most of us realize it really is mostly drivel? The reason is simple. The stories are entertaining in one way or another. The shows may be funny, educational, or emotional but they all tell a story and entertain us in the process. We reward the best story tellers by renewing their shows for another season. And what about those commercials? We may whine about them but don't we also find some of them cute? The best commercials tell a story that sells the product or service and that ad writer (i.e., story teller) is rewarded with commissions and more work.

Please don't think it's just modern American or European culture that values the story teller. Think back in history. What is history but stories? It doesn't matter if it's the Bible or Beowulf, Shakespeare or Socrates, we're listening to the very best story tellers of the era telling compelling stories. These are stories that have endured over time and show us that we still have a lot in common with the authors. Consider for a moment the caveman. When cavemen gathered at the end of the day who do you think was most popular, the best hunter or the best story teller? I have little doubt that it was the story teller. Think about people today gathered around a campfire. The person with the marshmallows has perhaps 2 minutes of popularity while the gifted story teller reigns for the evening. Perhaps you doubt that cavemen told stories. It isn't inconceivable but it isn't likely either. How would you explain those cave paintings if there were no stories to go with them?

The more I ponder the power of the story the more I come to realize the myriad of ways that all of humanity reveres and rewards the talented story teller. I even wonder if there could be civilization without stories. It might be that telling stories is a fundamental human need.

So here's one more reason why I have this web site. I'd like to be a good story teller. This web site is part of my story. It helps me to hone my story telling skills. I may never get rich telling stories but there are other kinds of riches and happiness is one of them. As corny as it may sound, telling stories here puts a grin on my face. It isn't as big as the grin I get flying an RV but I'll take my grins wherever I can find them and I hope you do to.

Don