Earthlings tend to confuse me. I find them to be complicated, irrational, and often unpredictable. Notwithstanding this, I basically like humans. Therefore, it has always seemed worthwhile to at least try to understand them. So, I learned to fit in with the people of this planet, to become one of them, attempting to go completely native. I went to the same schools as them and became friends. I got my degree in computer systems, because people said I should, then I went on to get a degree in philosophy, because many of them said I should not.

Along the way I’ve tried to interpret the Earth people, using various methods. I’ve sketched them, painted them, and photographed them. I’ve performed for them, and even gotten some of them to sing along. I’ve worked for them, I’ve hired them, I’ve done business with them well into the night. I’ve drank with them—many times, even when it seemed like a bad idea. I’ve fallen in love with many of them, and married some as well. I’ve been a son, a brother, a father, a distant cousin, and the coworker of my adopted daughter’s aunt’s ex-girlfriend’s brother. I’ve been part of a congregation, and a member of a coven.  I’ve learned some of the languages here, and forgotten some, too. I’ve been a secret pal, a confidant, and a safe place to hide from the storm. I’ve read poetry to a dying man in a military hospital, and I’ve kissed the cold forehead of a kind and loving woman on Christmas day.

And I write. I write because until I express my thoughts, they remain flat, and relatively colorless. When I invite them out of my head, show them into the sunlight, they become clearer to me. Essays are the first step, and I often load my pen with facts to fire them at the page. This is a good way to sort things out, and I do it all the time. However, my real love is fiction, because when I allow my characters to run loose, they inevitably lead me to understandings that I would never have thought of on my own. And that’s the point: Not to escape, and not even to learn, but to actually understand Earthlings, just a little bit more with each story.