Information overload, plain and simple. I’d say that pretty well sums up the amount of …stuff… buzzing around on a daily basis. There’s so much …stuff… that it quickly numbs, desensitizes, sanitizes and effectively neutralizes any hope of making sense of any of it. One coping mechanism I’ve always used is writing because the writing process molds all the disparate information into a bit more manageable state of chaos, at least enough to form semi-coherent thoughts and ideas. It’s taming the shrew of sorts, and an ongoing battle of an overactive brain such as mine.
So, when I find a shining beacon of rationality and cognizance “out there” in the wild world of The Cloud (it used to be called the Internet, then specifically the World Wide Web, but now it’s just The Cloud), I grab on and hold on with all my might. This beacon becomes a tether, an anchor, a buoy, a lighthouse… Well, you get the point.
That bright spot “out there” is Anetta Ribken, “Netta” of Word Webbing, where words are spun and threads are forged. Through and through, Netta is a writer in the truest sense and is a pure joy to read, even if it’s just snippets of thought in her Facebook status updates. I’ve read Word Webbing for years and her clarity is a breath of fresh air, if I may use the cliché, and recently started reading Not Nice and Other Understatements. Netta’s ability to smack me upside the head to startle me out of myself is amplified greatly in this collection of flash fiction short stories. Reading this book (I hope it lasts forever), is quite a verbal experience with even more cliches like “Oh my God!” and “Holy shit!” coming out of my mouth often.
Needless to say, I’m a fan of hers, and this is coming from someone who, for years, felt that no one could ever knock Stephen King down from the high mantle of #1, and that lonely place at the top is getting mighty crowded with both Anetta Ribken and Stephen King occupying the space. Time is short, ol’ Stephen because, you see, Netta is a Real Person, not some famous, out-of-reach icon of infamy. Netta has graduated to a new high, a new category besides favorite author – she has become my friend. Now that is an honor for me.
Ah, she’s a good friend. I managed to get lost in the day-to-day crap of life and missed it. I didn’t know she had received a blog award, nor did I know that she passed it on to me. Netta is like me in that she has to feel it, feel it good, before she sets her mind to writing about it, and this particular blog award hit home for her and by proxy, it has hit home for me. Once again, she has managed to startle, shock and honor me, all it one fell swoop.
The award is the Stylish Blogger Award, given from one writer to another in recognition of (a) excellence in writing, (b) maintaining a stylish blog, and (c) being an all-around nice person. (OK, that last one was added on along the way, but like Netta says, “If I don’t like you, I’m probably not reading you anyway,” so I’ll keep it too.) The first requirement of the award is to tell you a little bit about the writer who gave it to me, I did, and the next is to share seven things about me. So, here goes, in no particular order:- In one way or another, I’ve managed to “be” everything I’ve ever wanted to be – singer, counselor, teacher, photographer, writer, horseman.
- I’m perfectly happy being a Jack of All Trades, Master of None.
- I have no idea what I want to be when I grow up!
- Years ago, someone called me a pessimist. Nowadays, everyone thinks I’m so positive that I miss the negatives. No, I don’t. I choose not to give the negatives any airplay.
- I have no self-esteem to the point where it runs deep into the negative numbers. But, it doesn’t matter. I try not get wrapped up in myself, and that’s what matters.
- To add insult to injury, I am chronically depressed. I have to work hard at not getting wrapped up in my pitiful self.
- I am tickled pink that Netta gave me this award as well as wonderful things to say about me. Still.
Ethan Nobles is another writer, a fellow former reporter, that I’ve come to know and respect in many ways. I love his personal blog, The Natural State Hog, but admire him completely for starting and building First Arkansas News. Ethan has proven, without a shadow of doubt, that news doesn’t have to be mundane and meaningless.
Sara, otherwise known as Mountain Woman, of Red Pine Mountain has put together a beautiful blog about her day to day life on a farm in Vermont. It is a simple, happy, wonderful life filled with animals and nature which she shares with gorgeous photography.
I’ve never been a fan of history, and the few experiences I’ve had in Chicago were less than shining moments in my life. Sharon Williams of The Chicago History Journal has channeled my attitude toward history and Chicago through her interesting and informative blog.
New to the realm of blogging, Karen Garriott of The Princess’s Carriage shares some of the happiest moments in people’s lives, made perfect by perfectly white horses pulling impeccably perfect white carriages.
There you have it, some of my favorites, those shining beacons out there in The Cloud. Give them a looksee, and see if they don’t help keep your feet on the ground too.
And Netta… Thanks!
