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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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