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My Sporadic Journal

by PlannerDan

Rated: 13+ · Book · Other · #865259

A sporadic account of my reaction to life.

Over the years I have sporadically attempted to keep a journal. Each attempt has failed miserably. I think they expired because I established rules that were too ridgid for them. So, this attempt will bring with it very few rules.

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There are many incredibly kind and thoughtful people in WDC. One of them is zwisis. Out of the blue she sent me this flower gift. It reminds me of the Bluebonnets of Texas. Thanks, Sarah. And, I must not forget the very talented katherine76 who created the flower...thank you.

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Well, it appears that my blog is going to the dogs. It aslo seems as if folks have gotten me pegged as a dog lover....they're right. Our very own Anyea

has gifted me with this Valentine card. Now I ask you, "How sweet is that?" Thanks, Anyea

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I have been fortunate to encounter many generous and kind people during my tenure in WDC. Debi Wharton

is one of them. She gifted me with the following sig. It shows how sensitive and caring she is. It also shows that she read some my entries. She'll never know how much I appreciate the gift and the attention to my blog.

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Show Recent Comments

10 Most Recent Blog Comments:

Nada

Jan 5, 2019 at 11:14am
In response to "Invalid Entry"

I draw trucks!

Legerdemain

Dec 27, 2018 at 11:41am
In response to "Invalid Entry"

Perhaps chasing down the license and the make of the vehicle would at least get you in the right direction.

I love old stuff like this!

Happy holidays!

Eric Wharton

Dec 23, 2018 at 5:33pm
In response to "Invalid Entry"

I have a box of photos just like the one you have. Unfortunately mine may have to remain unidentified since I have so few cousins I can ask. The generation that are the subject of those photos have now all passed away. I did try to take due diligence to my genealogy research by one day sitting down with my mother and going through the box of old photos. She identified a few but probably 99 percent got the response "Oh, I don't know, Ruth would know." Ruth was my aunt (my mother's sister) who had passed away a few years earlier. So I still kick myself for not having the foresight to sit down with my aunt while she was still alive.

If I were to advise anyone just beginning to take the path deep into the forest of their family history, I would suggest going over photos from everyone they know in that older generation because, sadly, once that treasure trove is gone, its gone for good.

The Literary Penguin

Dec 22, 2018 at 10:37pm
In response to "Invalid Entry"

When I lived in Alberta I had a truck. 4x4 for those brutal Canadian winters. And yes, I had many friends too.

The Literary Penguin

Dec 22, 2018 at 10:36pm
In response to "Invalid Entry"

If I were to classify myself as a photographer, my favourite subject would be wildlife. It's fairly easy to recognise an elephant and since it's all digital now, I will have a date/time stamp to let me know which trip I was on when the photo was taken.

But that really is an intriguing photo ... so many stories between the edges there.

vivacious

Dec 21, 2018 at 8:26pm
In response to "Invalid Entry"

That’s why I take pictures of nature. They’re timeless and always recognizable: “Oh, look, yet another sunset!”

Chewie Kittie

Dec 18, 2018 at 12:50pm
In response to "Invalid Entry"

I agree with Voxxy. I purposely don't leave feedback for people I know, because you never know how it will affect your friendship. I totally get that indie publishers rely almost 100% on word of mouth and feedback algorithms, but if I enjoy our friendship? I'm not falling down that rabbit hole with you.

If something really really speaks to me on a visceral level? I will give you more than a thumbs up like. I will tell you how it spoke to me. But know that the thumbs up like means...I appreciate your writing this, but I have nothing cogent to add to this discussion/topic. However, I still want you to know that you reached this audience of one, so keep on keepin' on.

David McClain

Dec 18, 2018 at 12:34pm
In response to "Invalid Entry"

A truck AND a Z-mower? Dang buddy, you have gone Full-Metal-Country on us! Kinda like those things myself.

Voxxylady

Dec 17, 2018 at 8:54pm
In response to "Invalid Entry"

It used to bother me that of all of the people who call themselves a friend or even friendly acquaintance, only about .009 percent of them have even READ any of my books. Okay, not all genres are for everyone. I get it. However, as you say, there are the blog posts (my public ones) that I advertise on my sites. Of those who have read some of my work, well, I guess it wasn't their cup of tea. A few have left some comments/reviews, but very few.

On the other side of that coin, I've read a LOT of local author books and some by friends here and I've quit reviewing them because I don't do all 5 stars Perfection kind of reviews. I'm politely honest. I don't think they really appreciate it. I would, but I think they don't. So, I think a lot of people are afraid to say the wrong thing since so many are touchy.

And I'll just say I am interested in your book that I recently asked you about, but I don't buy from Amazon, so that leaves me in a conundrum. I've been known to make a rare exception, and since I've enjoyed everything of yours I've read here, I might. After the holidays. I'm overwhelmed at the moment and need to get back to working on handmade gifts.

People have their reasons, although, yes, it's a pretty hard pill to swallow.

1 Like

David McClain

Dec 17, 2018 at 2:00pm
In response to "Invalid Entry"

To be more specific Dan, I have had the same thing done to me many times...people I thought were friends online and even in real life not even bothering to leave a comment to support what is a surprisingly hard task...crafting a blog entry. They just throw a "Like" at it and move on. It seems to be worse now than it use to be on this site, but as I told you the other day, you have to push through this. Keep writing for yourself and the readers will find you, the real readers, not the fair weather hypocrites, but people who really do like what you write.

Another thing to consider is that you will never know who will be touched by your words. Not long ago I got an email from someone I'd never heard of who had read my blog on Medium and wanted to tell me how much my blog had helped them deal with the loss of their own spouse. That blew me away.

December 17, 2018 at 10:55am

#947636

Okay, It Bugs Me Just A Little

This is a difficult entry to write. It’s difficult because it is about my writing. If you have been a member of WDC for any length of time you have received reviews of your material. Some are bubbling with praise and some are blisteringly scathing. Often time you get both extremes from the same piece. I have never been offended by any review, be it good or bad, received in WDC or on Amazon reviews. If you write and put the stuff out there to be examined you’ve got to accept the bad along with the good. Hopefully that input will help you improve your writing. I have no problem with that.
What bugs me are a select few of the folks I’ve called my friends and acquaintances over the years. They politely smile and offer small talk about my writing when they hear I have a published body of work. But, their lack of feedback when exposed to the writing is thunderous in their perception of it. I don’t think friends outside of my writing circle know how to respond. They smile and say, “That’s great, I’ll have to read it.” But they never do. Or worse, they read it and keep it a secret to be shared with others who have read it and just aren’t talking. It’s as if they’re saying, “Oh, I read his stuff…bless his heart.” If you’re from the South you know what that means. And, then there are a very few people who consider themselves as being well read, well qualified, well-educated and very well-placed socially who simply consider it as being drivel.
Well, newsflash, I don’t care. I realize some of my work could use a ton more editing. I did my best but those pesky typos, dangling modifiers, comma flaws, and wrong verb tenses just sneak by, in spite of my reading and re-reading. Hey, I never expected to get a Pulitzer from any of it. And, I’m certainly not fishing for complements. I just enjoyed flinging the stuff on the paper and sharing the story with someone else.
Please don’t think for a second that I am deeply disturbed by this because I’m not. I suppose I’m disappointed in some of the acquaintances in my life who have turned their noses up at my literary attempts outside of my life with them. Well, life is filled with too much other things of beauty and is a tad bit short to be bothered by them. But (sigh), it really bugs me...just a little.

2 Like • Comment • View 6 comments

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