What’s the definition of: irony

willywray — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 18:20:20 +0000

Actually irony is one of those ironic type of things easier to understand than define. I do know this- the ironies this life has to offer are more profound and at once more ridiculous than anything I could dream up. Here’s one for you. For many years I dreamed of being a writer. Novelist was my first choice — I read many, wrote two, sold none. Newspaper reporter was another possibility. I went to college for that while supporting myself as a sports reporter for the local weekly. I was promoted to full time news editor after graduation. That didn’t work out either mostly because I unwilling to be the person I was going to need to be to be good at that particular job. Career was no longer improtant — lifestyle was now the primary consideration. Freelance travel writer was my next incarnation — sort of a combination reporter/novelist. I sold some work — Miami Herald, Philadelphia Enquirer– real papers that paid real money. Trouble was the places I liked to write about were off-the-beaten-path more suited for individual travellers than hordes of tourists. Editors liked my stuff but I came to question what effect my writing about these places would have on them. If that’s not enough irony here is some more. Now that its easy to be a “writer” I don’t want to be one anymore. Lifestyle is still the most important thing. That’s why I created Waste Free Oregon. Irony has a number of definitions. Shakespeare wrote books about it. Here’s one: the difference between what is and what really is. That’s irony!