This blog, as these things are called, is a milestone that I never thought when I started this two and a half years ago I would reach. This is number 100 in my list of stories, as I call them. If anyone wonders why I write them it started quite innocently with Pam, my dear friend from Stephens, when she suggested I write a blog about our Tesla road trip to the East coast. She had to explain to me what a blog was and how to do it.
Armed with a new laptop I didn't know how to operate Marshell and I took off on a trip to the east coast. We were to meet up with other Tesla owners in Ocean City, Maryland. But the week we were to be gone turned into twenty-one days and 4,800 miles. I took pictures every day and spent hours every night trying to post a story. The writing verges on terrible and any sane person would have given up.
When we got home I started reading some of the thousands of blogs that are posted everyday and found out some people make thousands of dollars each week by running ads on their pages. The thought struck me that I could do that. My only problem was that I hated all the ads that no one wants to look at even though that is how they make money.
Sorry blogger.com, you and I are not going to going to get rich.
If you can imagine a subject there are hundreds of blogs about it. Some just post pictures with no explanation of where they are or a constant stream of recipes that never get made since no one really cooks any more. Lots of self-help for anything that ails you or tech blogs so you can learn how to operate all the electronics that surround us. The worst are the Mommy blogs on how to protect your children from dirt and Danger Strangers. Baby boomers blogs really do me in as most are how to care for aging parents, how to suddenly get fit when you ignored it for fifty years, how to keep your brain intact or does anyone remember saddle shoes or 45 rpm records. So if I enjoyed writing what to write about?
The first thing that popped into my mind was the insane renovation of turning an old building into a home. Looking back on it I am not sure that any one realized the ten year ordeal of living in plaster dust and not having a kitchen for seven years comes out in it. Also I am not sure sleeping on a futon for five years or being watched over by Dr. Severs, our resident ghost, was added to the story. My writing needed to get better for people to understand we were on an adventure of magnitude portion. With the renovation stories done, what to do next as I was now addicted to writing?
Our kitchen for several years
I love to learn about people since we are all such fascinating creatures. If I had my preference I would only read biographies although a good romance novel is okay. When I look at Facebook I skip all the posts that people share about loving your daughter, some recipe that sounds good, most of the politics and anything else that fails to tell me something about my friends and what they are doing. I have one friend who posts about all the places he goes to listen to music or out to dinner with friends, another who shows off his vast collection of 50's and 60's era stuff, any animal picture, video or story, or a niece who keeps me posted on her children and life and what my kiddos and grandkiddos are up to. Those are the posts I like to read.
That lead me to start writing about how lucky I was to grow up in the baby boomer years and what it was like for me. I think I had a tendency at first to not put in some of the sad or hurtful events, stupid mistakes I made and even some of the fantastic friends that created a lot of special moments in my life. The comments I get back on the stories have helped me in being more open and honest as I have found so many people have been through a lot of the same things. Another great thing about writing has been my learning how to spell. I hated phonics in the second grade so spelling had always been my downfall. Now if blogger tells me something is spelled wrong rather than wait for spell check I figure it out or look it up. Never too old to learn.
One of my favorite lines from a movie was in Dirty Dancing when Patrick Swayze says to Jennifer Grey's parents "Nobody puts Baby in the corner". There have been countless times that I felt through the years that I was being shoved into a corner and my opinion did not count. There were so many times when I was called stupid or that perhaps I was not smart enough to do something. If you hear anything enough times you have a tendency to start believing it. Thank heavens for all the friends I have had in this journey through life.
In the next 100 blogs/stories you will meet some of them. There is the plastic surgeon who sewed up my face when I tried an Evil Knievel stunt. He encouraged me to finally go back to college and finish my degree. Mark and Ralph always made the early days of drag racing fun when Dennis made it so difficult. Kansas City gave me a neighbor named Karen to get in silly, unbelievable antics with creating constant laughter and Barney who helped me start my decorating business. New Jersey gave me a lady named Sis who was old enough to be my Mother but taught me how important the little things in life are. Without Claire in Michigan I might not have survived the divorce and starting a new life. Lisa and Robert made it fun to reconnect with all my high school classmates after twenty years of not seeing or hearing about them.
Wes and Wally at work
or get the car stuck in the mud trying to avoid a hail storm. What a guy!
Marshell and I as Dancing Bears
I hope in reading the stories they bring back memories of yours, both good and bad, as life contains both. You may learn a few of my tricks in how to see some humor in any situation. Good friends are a lifeline when you need them but it is also important to walk away from people who drag you down be they family or friends. Life is too short for sadness, anger or regrets.
So back to the continuing saga next week.
No comments:
Post a Comment