This is how Vice Admiral James Stockdale introduced himself to America 34 years ago at the start of the 1992 vice presidential debate. He was on the ticket with third-party candidate H. Ross Perot, sharing the stage with Dan Quayle and Al Gore.

Stockdale had all the presence of a confused grandpa who’d wandered out of his assisted living facility. Late night comedians savaged him, and he became the subject of one of SNL’s most famous cold opens.

The thing is, Stockdale wasn’t a demented grandpa. He was an American hero.

On September 9, 1965, Commander Stockdale was forced to eject from his plane while on a mission over North Vietnam. He parachuted into a small village where he was taken prisoner and severely beaten.

He spent the next seven and a half years in the infamous “Hanoi Hilton,” where he was routinely tortured and denied medical treatment.

Stockdale was eventually released and returned to the United States in 1973. He continued serving in the Navy until 1979 and joined Stanford University in 1981, where he became known as a Stoic philosopher.

Yet that night on the debate stage, Stockdale became a national joke and further doomed Perot’s long shot candidacy.

Stockdale’s debate experience illustrates a sad truth: First impressions matter more than we care to admit. How you are introduced—and the order in which someone learns the salient facts of your life—makes a difference.

SNL and late night comedians branded Stockdale a confused fool before people had the chance to learn the story of an extraordinarily courageous man, an inspiring teacher, and a serious academic.

What does this have to do with me or this blog?

Let me borrow Stockdale’s rhetorical questions: “Who am I? Why am I here?”

For more than a decade I ran the digital strategy and advertising group for a DC public affairs agency, primarily running high-profile education, advocacy and reputation campaigns. Now I’m transitioning to retirement.

I’m a person who sees connections. I uncomplicate things, get to the core questions, and focus on the essential.

When it comes to technology, history, or people, I’m insatiably curious—always learning, traveling, listening for new variations of old stories.

But why am I here?

For years I’ve been in online limbo.

While my work pushed me across expanding online platforms, I kept my own footprint minimal. I’ve had this micro.blog account for years but could never commit.

But now the time seems right to give it a real try because I’m feeling purpose in the discipline of posting.

Posting something each day helps me to live in the moment. It forces me to be present in my life, to listen for stories, to look for images, to make observations, and have the occasional insight—and then articulate it in a short, digestible form.

So, that’s what you’ll see here: Me being present.

I’ll post my best photos, share small thoughts, and publish essays when I feel I have something interesting to say.

And I’ll do it for me. With no expectations. Giving my best effort to stay present.

There’s a lesson to be learned from Admiral Stockdale’s debate experience: Own your story. And carefully consider what you share and when you share it.

One the year ahead, I hope to tell stories, in words and pictures, that communicate something real rather than caricatures.