No doubt about it.

I decided to pursue life as a romantic long before I even understood what it meant to be a romantic. It was instinctive. I was born to be a romantic idealist. And it took a while for me to become conscious of that fact. To become aware of what I was doing, and why. As a youngster, I decided to become a writer. Because I had to. I was being compelled by the holy spirits, by the grand Creator. So in the 6th grade, I started writing and publishing a little neighborhood newspaper, the Riverlawn Gazette. Writing newsy and satirical pieces about happenings in the neighborhood. And I sold the mimeographed weekly newspaper for a penny a copy. The idea wasn't to make money, obviously. Rather to just express and distribute my thoughts, my take on life in the neighborhood where I was growing up. And I've never stopped writing. I write virtually every day. And more than ever since I 'retired' 10 years ago. And I've learned to write what I want to write. Not what an editor or anyone else wants me to write. I'm my own boss. But now when I write, it's mostly romantic thoughts. Love letters. To express my love of life. And my very personal thoughts. My love. Writing makes me understand why I was born. Created. Put on Mother Earth. No doubt about it. To be a romantic. A lover. --Jim Broede