I’m a breast cancer survivor. My diagnosis wasn’t dire; I always tell folks I had a slight case of cancer. A few weeks of radiation and inconvenience, and I was as good as new.
I know I was lucky. My husband’s company has great insurance, so every part of my diagnosis and treatment was covered once my deductible was met. Great doctors, a caring hospital, and a road to recovery were all in reach.
But what about women who aren’t so fortunate? What about those women whose jobs don’t offer coverage or those who are students or unemployed? Where do they turn for help?
Planned Parenthood, that’s where. Republicans in congress would have us believe that PP is only performs abortions, when in truth, abortions make up a very small fraction of PP services. I’d hate to live in a country that didn’t provide such import diagnostic services to women in need.
If you’ve read my blog for any length of time you know I’m a Liberal. I enthusiastically support Hillary Clinton as the most qualified candidate in the 2016 election. She perhaps is the most qualified candidate in history.
Most major newspapers agree with me, and I thought it would be interesting to look at a list of the papers who have endorsed each of the candidates. The publication, Mother Jones, did a great job of comparing newspaper endorsements and comparing them to endorsements in the 2012 election:
Just in case you don’t have time to read the entire Mother Jones article, here’s a rundown of all of the papers who supported Mitt Romney, the GOP candidate in 2012, but are supporting Hillary Clinton, the Democrat in 2016:
New York Daily News
Houston Chronicle
Arizona Republic
Dallas Morning News
San Diego Union-Tribune
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Cincinnati Enquirer
Columbus Dispatch
The Des Moines Register
The Omaha World Herald
Ft. Worth Star Telegram
Newsday
Orlando Sentinel
Altogether, Hillary has garnered endorsements from forty newspapers.
Only the Las Vegas Review Journal has endorsed Trump during the Presidential campaign; although, the tabloids National Enquirer, and The New York Observer (owned by Trump’s son-in-law), along with the New York Post, and one small California paper came out in support of the Republican candidate during the primaries. Oh, Trump also picked up an endorsement from the The Crusader, the official newspaper of the white supremacist group, the Ku Klux Klan. While Trump’s campaign was quick to turn down the KKK’s support, the fact that Trump is their guy speaks volumes.
Oddly enough Libertarian candidate, Gary Johnson has picked up more major endorsements than Trump (Chicago Tribune, Detroit News, and Richmond Times-Dispatch).
When 13 traditionally conservative newspapers snub the GOP candidate in favor of the Democrat shouldn’t the voting populace take notice? I’m with her, and so are the majority of thinking individuals.
I just upgraded to a premium package. I guess I’m happy with it, but they kind of had me over a barrel. I couldn’t attach any photos to new blogs without upgrading, and I know how much you all enjoy my stellar (cough! cough!) photography.
But I’m griping because for some reason WP has begun publishing posts that clearly were marked as “scheduled.” I’ll go in to edit scheduled posts and the next thing I know they’ve published. It’s ticking me off.
So if you click on one of my posts and nothing is there please know it wasn’t my doing, but an overzealous WordPress glitch.
I knew my second anniversary with WordPress was imminent, but couldn’t remember the exact date. Thank goodness one of us was keeping tabs.
Two years ago today I was sitting in the exact same spot in which I find myself now. I was bored and lonely and addicted to more than one computer game: Bejeweled Blitz, Plants vs. Zombies, and a couple with names I don’t recall, but one had to do with building castles and the other with raising dragons. It was a sad life.
Oh, I had Facebook, but my tendency to say exactly what I thought had alienated a good many of my friends. My liberal political leanings aren’t shared by many of my family members or childhood friends.
To compensate for my loneliness I’d begun reading a couple of friends’ blogs. One had just started hers and it was so charming and comforting that I began thinking perhaps I could do something similar. In the weeks prior I’d had some interesting and mildly humorous incidents in my life and thought, “I can do this! All I have to do is record all the goofy things in my life.”
Now, as awkward as I am, I couldn’t write a daily blog based solely on personal mishaps, and soon I was just writing filler until something good came along. Sometimes I did something wacky on purpose just so I could write about it. If you look back through my early archives I’m sure those posts are easy to spot.
Then I had an epiphany of sorts and just began writing for myself. That’s when the poetry started, along with a few short pieces of fiction. Occasionally I’m asked why I’ve never published anything and my answers vary. Honestly, I’m not sure anything I’ve written is worthy of being published outside of WordPress, and I’m clueless in the business of publishing, to boot.
I still compose and publish everything on my iPhone, and I still publish at least one post per day.
Reading my stats is pary of the fun of publishing on WordPress.
My favorite part of blogging is the connection I’ve made with other bloggers from all across the world. I read posts from writers in Great Britain and India, Germany and Italy, Australia and South Africa, among many others. We comment on each others’ lives and offer our own insights. We learn from one another.
I’m fascinated to read of the differences in our cultures and comforted to note how very much alike we are. We all just want the best possible lives for ourselves and our loved ones.
Every now and again I decide it’s time to stop blogging. I mean, it’s a good deal of work and there are likely much more profitable ways to spend my days. But then some random thought pops into my head demanding I write about it, and I begin frantically punching letters into words and words into sentences on my iPhone keyboard before the idea fades into oblivion.
After two years of blogging I’m still somewhat of a pariah on Facebook; although, I’ve found a couple of groups of like minded friends with whom to share congenial conversations–some I’ve met through WordPress. I’ve weaned myself from every computer game except Words With Friends. I’m less lonely and better informed. Blogging has, corny as it might sound, saved my life, or at least my sanity.
One of my favorite bloggers, Ellen Hawley (Notes from the U.K.), recently posted a quirky photo and solicited captions for it. Here’s the link to Ellen’s post: http://wp.me/p4FooO-kN
I submitted a caption, but a winner had already been declared. Story of my freaking life. But two, or two hundred, can play this game, and I vowed to find a photo worthy of captioning.
I give you:
So submit your caption, and we’ll decide on a best one and maybe honorable mentions. There could be medals or trophies or something.
I called for a nacho night, awesome right? Except I ate almost all the cheese before it went on the corn chips… Why do I do these unforgivable things.
I can certainly identify with her dilemma. Nachos sans cheese are just chips. I imagine that when the ingredients met up in her stomach they probably recognized their respective soul mates and did a happy dance.
But her tale reminded me of one from my very early childhood. I commented:
When I was very little my mom made up a mixture of peanut butter and Karo syrup to put on toast. But while she was toasting the bread I devoured the mixture. She got so tickled because I thought the peanut butter and syrup was my breakfast. I remember that vividly and I was only three or four at the time. Your post brought that back to me. Thanks!
I can still picture the confusion on Mother’s face when she brought the toast to the table and found that the peanut butter and syrup bowl was empty–probably licked clean. It was my first taste of that lovely concoction and it was bowl licking good.
Then she began to laugh. And it was a wonderful laugh. We mixed up more of the good stuff and enjoyed it on our toast. And then I watched Captain Kangaroo.
This is why we share our lives through our blogs. The exciting and mundane, the shocking and the bland can provide meaningful connections. You never know when your post is going to trigger a lost memory.
Written in response to the Daily Post’s Daily Prompt:
Key Takeaway: Give your newer sisters and brothers in WordPress one piece of advice based on your experiences blogging.
————–or————–
If you’re a new blogger what’s one question you’d like to ask other bloggers?
I’m a blogging addict. At least once a week for the past year and a half I’ve pledged to quit, and yet here I am, plugging away. Pledging and plugging in an endless cycle of despair and euphoria.
If new bloggers are looking to me for advice then it’s a very sad state they inhabit. Nonetheless, here is my one piece of wisdom:
Just write and publish something every single day. Don’t make apologies or excuses, just write.
You’ll hit a lot of easy out pop flies, but occasionally you’ll get a triple, and on that rarest of days, a grand slam home run. Those are the days that stoke the writing fire, and to continue mixing metaphors, feed the addiction.
And because I don’t follow directions very well, here’s one more piece of advice: Read the work of a diverse mix of bloggers. Interact with them and savor their unique talents. Perhaps the best part of having begun writing has been the exposure to this great wealth of writers, poets, and photographers.
Yesterday I wrote that I was fiddling with a draft piece on my blog and my characters weren’t giving me a clear idea of where they wanted or needed to go. In particular my heroine is stuck in a house of ill-repute for reasons I can’t go into at this time.
This afternoon in the middle of a deep tissue massage I clearly saw her, and she gave me a hint as to her dilemma. Apparently, she doesn’t feel stuck in her situation. I argued with her a bit, surely she was being exploited or victimized, but she was adamant.
If you write fiction, do your characters argue with you? Or am I going crazy? I am weaning myself from the antidepressant, Effexor–could this be a side effect? At any rate, I need someone to proof this piece before I proceed. Any takers?
Some days writing posts for a daily blog is a grind. The post you’ve scheduled for publication doesn’t feel quite right, but you don’t have anything else ready so you publish it anyway, or worse yet there’s nothing in your queue and you find yourself scrounging for something, anything, to publish.
Hey, here’s an amusing picture of a pregnant pig practicing Lamaze. It’ll do!
But some days are just fun. Like today. I found several gems written by bloggers I follow. Some I reblogged and others I shared on Facebook or Twitter. My own scheduled post turned out well, and I even composed a quick on the spot piece when a flash of inspiration struck during lunch. Yes, I should have scheduled it for a future publication date, but sometimes a writer just needs instant feedback. I’ll worry about tomorrow, tomorrow.
I also fiddled with a draft of a short story that’s been in the works for awhile. Hopefully one day soon the characters will let me know what they plan to do next. Right now I’m having difficulty getting out of a fictional whorehouse. Don’t judge. It’s complicated.
Maybe the best part of a fun blogging day is the feedback, the comments, and smiley faces. Interacting with fellow bloggers whether about my own writing or theirs is often the bright spot in my day. I have some insanely witty commenters. Don’t even read my blog posts, just read the comments section. Wait, I didn’t mean that. Shhhh!!!
So, if you’re a blogger does this all sound familiar? If you tell me every day is a piece of cake I might just paste a frownie face in your comments section.
Praying for Eyebrowz 