%%USERNAME%%    %%ACCWORDS%% %%ONOFF%% |
 |   Thoughts destined to be washed away by the tides of life. |
|
I've been studying my cover photo for a while now, and it seems to me that it is more than just a photo of what is there that can be seen, more than just three white rocks stacked on a beach. It contains an important question about the future, about what happens long after the photographer has gone. What will happen to our pile of stones when the tide comes in? Will it topple or has the architect built this structure at a safe distance? I don't know what will happen to these words that I stack here on the sand. They may prove safely distant, or they may be swallowed up by a rush of self-doubt. They may be here for a season. They may lose their balance and be scattered by the shoreline, or be hidden away under shifting sands. Perhaps someday, the tides of life will reclaim them. Or maybe that's just a bunch of poetic, romantic nonsense. After all, this is just a blog. |
| I belong to a number of special interest groups on Facebook. Some are for hobbies, others celebrate certain authors or artists, and there’s even a couple of groups devoted to quirky television series that I enjoy. I love being able to share my enthusiasm for different pursuits with like-minded people. I don’t love it when the discussions go off topic and into emotionally-charged political debates. Don’t get me wrong - I love to debate politics. Just not in a knitting group. In my craft groups, I want to discuss techniques, share patterns and encourage others by praising the quality of their latest projects. I don’t want to know the politics of the others in the group and I don’t want to preach mine. I want to like them as people, as friends. But bring in politics and people change. They go from being supportive and encouraging to hurling insults and oh! how the uppercase letters and exclamation marks multiply across the screen! I prefer it when the admins shut down the off-topic political fights. If they don’t, I generally leave the group. I prefer to continue liking my fellow enthusiasts. I don’t want to hate them and I don’t want them to hate me. Because political debates can go to an unhealthy level of anger and nonsense. I know this from experience. See, I was having a conversation with a group of people on the interwebs recently when I opened my argument with the well-known quote: “Believe nothing you hear, and only one half that you see.” Since this was a political discussion, another participant immediately countered with “That’s what the Nazis said!”. I was taken aback completely. I felt like a fool. How did I not know that Edgar Allan Poe was a Nazi?  *Apologies to Elvis Costello, but I am hoping to leave you with an earworm. |
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
Not quite what I meant. "Pufts" was a sidelong reference to the famous dog show, Crufts