Comments, Comments, and “Is that Me?”

I wanna thank everyone who has submitted comments to the rantings I leave behind. I have to say that some of them are fuckin’ hysterical! That said, you may be wondering why those same comments never seem to appear in the Comments sections of each entry. The reason for this is simple. I figure if I “publish” one, then I’ll feel obligated to publish them all. See, along with the really funny and ridiculous missives, there are a few flattering ones. In my head, posting those just translates into public self-congratulations.

*shudder*

And then along came Lisa Jones… I always publish Lisa’s comments because she has so much to say that we all need to hear [and yet, she sits on her essay for this site like a stubborn brat hoarding her toys. (glares at friend)] I’m very lucky that Lisa has been a part of my life for so very many years because besides being a brilliant wrier, she’s a brilliant friend. I’m hoping that she’ll start sharing her stories and become a part of your life as well, dear Reader. Perhaps she’ll blog on her own; perhaps she will finally submit the guest blog here that she promised… Either way, she has a voice worth hearing. And she used to perform stand-up comedy… for beers.

So from y’all’s comments: here’s my favorite: There’s this guy. Well, I assume it’s a guy; I’m not trying to find out for sure by responding because I'm afraid he won't write again. Regarding the "Life Truths" post in January, he said it was like “bloody horse dick.” What??? I dunno, but it’s fuckin’ funny! Of course my first thought was that it's my friend Jonny, or maybe Gareth, in Leeds, England because they’d think that’s super funny, too. Either way, I love this guy. That was brilliant!

Then there’s this woman, KCares, who has apparently decided that I’m her psych patient or her project. To ALL readers, let me just say this: I’m not looking for advice or enlightenment or suggestions on self-help books. Thank you…. You’re very kind. But perhaps you could just save that. If I wanted help, I’d see my priest.

The purpose of this blog is to just be honest with myself and with all y’all. Sometimes I expect it will be embarrassing ("Don’t Judge" post); sometimes I’ll be angry and take all of you down a road of ugly with me. This is not about trying to impress anyone with my wordsmithing or prose. Cripes! I don’t even have a “theme” here and we all know that every good blogger needs one of those! It’s just about putting words on paper until such time as I can string together something Random House (or even Penguin!) would want to publish.

I’m not committing to publishing comments going forward. Maybe I will send up the really funny ones; but most likely I’ll continue to just read what you have to say then use you as material.

Speaking of, there’s no question that the most popular comment is, “are you writing about me?” I’ve tackled that topic before: if you think I am, I might be… I just don’t know it. Examine your behavior before you get all pissy because something I wrote struck a horribly sour and familiar cord in your life.

I got an anonymous comment shortly after the “Apologies” entry was published. This man, woman, it, used to be a goat – I dunno – sent a comment so scathing I nearly published it. In a nutshell the he, she, it, goat was outraged for whatever personal reason and said there would be repercussions if I didn’t stop writing about him, her, it! Oh no! Not repercussions!

*giggle*

There is a very real reason why I think that's funny. Those of you who have known me more than a minute know that it’s not unusual for me to publish here things that I’ve published on other sites. For instance, “Life’s Truths” gets republished twice every year just because. There was a request to republish "The Friendship Game – Parts 1 and 2." When I started publishing here, it was with all entries that were originally published somewhere else. Okay, so this is the best part. The Apologies entry that so enraged our dear Reader is a republish… from 1999, originally written in 1995. Probably only Lisa Jones knows for certain why that was composed and she ain’t talkin’! The thing that I love about this particular entry is how it demonstrates the consistency of my principles. What was true in 1995, stands true for me in 2009.

I know that some of my work is good, a lot of it is shit, and some of it probably leaves no actual impression whatsoever – the worst of all three. I’m not trying to write the next great American novel or solve societies woes. I’m simply looking around and reporting back on what I see. Love it or hate it – apparently you feel something. And I LOVE that some of y'all take this so personally that you think I thought of you. Excellent!

Until I can relocate my focus, ranting without purpose and typing without direction will be my “theme.” Think of it like fruit cake – no one really knows what’s in it, very few people like it, but everybody gets one anyway.