Welcome to “Grumpy Old Chook.” My name is Lynn Fowler. Later this year (2010) I will hit the “Big 6-0.” Whilst I certainly don’t consider 60 to be “old”, I have definitely reached the stage of life where I hold some fairly strong opinions and am not afraid to share them. I don’t feel a compulsion to pardon myself to anyone.
Like many of my vintage, I seem to spend a lot of time grumbling at the television, so I decided that maybe it is time to take my grumbles to the world by making them public through this blog. Just maybe some others will pick up some of my grumbles, and we might actually be able to get some action on some of the issues that affect older people … and younger ones, too, for that matter.
“Political correctness” is, in my opinion, a lot of hoo-haa, and an attempt to force conformity of opinion upon the unthinking masses. Excuse me, but I have a perfectly good brain and am well able to form my own opinions, I don’t need the Powers That Be to tell me what to think or how to express those thoughts. It’s quite likely that you will find a few grumps about “PC” in these pages!
I am Australian, living in a tiny country town in Victoria. So, many of the issues that I address through these pages will be the ones that affect Australians, Victorians or country people. That doesn’t mean that I won’t take a poke at world issues from time to time.
I am unashamedly Christian: I believe that the only true God is the God of the Bible, the One who manifested Himself in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ, and that He is the only Saviour of mankind. I make no apologies for my faith, nor do I intend to hide it so that I can make “friends.” I do not believe that the word “Christian” should be spelled D-O-O-R-M-A-T. If you can’t handle that, you are welcome to leave.
Having said that, I don’t anticipate that this blog will be overtly Christian. I have several Christian sites (you can find them in the “links” panel) where I share on purely spiritual issues. This blog will probably focus more on political and social issues. However, my views are inevitably shaped by my beliefs (as are yours, and everybody else’s, shaped by your or their beliefs) so I want to make it clear right up front from what corner I am coming.
I have two sons and five grandkids, ranging in age (at the time of writing) from nearly four up to nearly sixteen – can’t believe I will soon be the grandmother of a sixteen-year-old! (How did that happen? When did that happen? And where was I when it was happening?) Inevitably, you will hear a bit about them here and there.
My interests cover a wide range, from computers (I have a slew of websites) and dabbling in internet marketing (an effort to raise funds for the ministry,) to writing (3 published books and lots of articles,) to art (a far-too-occasional bout with a sketch pad and pencil,) to knitting, sewing and craft. It is not my intention to make this a “blog about everything”, but it’s quite possible that some of those things will worm their way in somewhere.
I would love to see this become a meeting place for other “grumpy old women” as well as some “grumpy old men” and even a few younger grumps-in-the-making. However, because of the problem of spam comments, I have had to turn comments off. If you would like to comment on any of the articles, feel free to contact me through the Contact Form. If you have a longer commentary that I feel has merit, I might (with your permission) consider publishing it on this blog.
