A 50TH - ANOTHER MILESTONE

This 50th is a milestone, but don’t rush out to buy me a card. It’s not my 50th birthday I’m celebrating, although I wouldn’t mind flipping back the calendar. BTW – the photo IS me on my 50th, mumble, mumble years ago. THIS milestone, dear friends, is my 50th blog post, and no, sadly, there won’t be cake. 

Been reminiscing. How did this blog come about, you ask? What? You say you didn’t ask?! Well, I’m going to tell you anyway because I’m in that kind of mood, so pour another glass of wine and hang in there with me. 

I remember hearing the word blog and not having a clue what it meant. Luckily, I have many younger, techie savvy friends and family, who let me draft and take advantage of their slipstream. (Been watching too much Tour de France.) The word blog, I discovered, is the truncation of the word weblog, which was used back in the 1990s when info found on internet/web was logged. Yes, I really Goggled. I have a need to know. That’s how I roll. 

So, sometime around 2007, the friends I chatted with in an online book-related group began to migrate over to something called Live Journal. This, I learned, was a digital journal, or blog. I checked it out and loved what I saw. Everyone was sharing on a more personal level, posting pics, commenting on each other’s posts, and really getting to know one another. I couldn’t get started fast enough. With Live Journal’s tools I was able to create a page and start joining the fun. But, all too soon my LJ friends were migrating to this new site called Facebook. Had me singing Carole King’s lyrics, “doesn’t anybody stay in one place anymore.” I shut-up (can’t sing), sighed, and followed, but boy, I really missed the fun I had writing all those Live Journal posts. 

Meanwhile, work on my novel was in progress. When it was close to final edits and revisions, those in the know pointed out that I needed a website. I guess authors need a “presence.” Point taken. But what I really wanted was a blog like the old LJ where I could post my thoughts and share my take on life. A compromise was reached with my talented, techie website designer, Paula Johnson. (Who is also a writer/author in her own right and host of more than one website.) A website I would have, but the URL would open to the first “page”, which would be my blog. Tabs were created for pages about my writing and the novel. I happily wrote my introductory blog post September of 2018. 

Why do I blog? Been asking myself that question. I have to admit to having a greater-than-average need to share. Long gone are the days of writing and receiving long, newsy letters, or sitting around with friends drinking coffee or wine and sharing our take on the world. And friends are now spread out far and wide. I’m also someone who makes sense of things by putting words to paper (so to speak). I love to know whether anyone else can relate, or provide a stimulating and different point of view, or share a similar experience/story that we can laugh or cry over. Maybe I just want to leave a handprint in the wet cement before it dries – my own version of “I was here.” Once on the internet, it’s out there forever, right? 

So, for the moment I’ll continue to blog and share. I hope you’ll continue to comment, whether here in the comments section, or via FB, text, or email. Your thoughts are always welcome. And…you know what? I’ve changed my mind. There should be cake. I’m on a mission to track down some cake. Wish you could join me. 

Here’s the header from my old LiveJournal Blog, “Under the Tucson Sun with Hotflash” (my original screen name on the BookCrossing site)

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