Friday, October 29, 2010

Followers of Followers

I find this "followers" aspect of blogging intriguing. I think much of it is done out of politeness,
okay you followed me, I'll join, I'll follow you! In reality I don't follow that many bloggers and some that are listed on my site no longer blog. I am not clever enough to delete these. I am always curious when someone becomes a follower and always go "check them out", sometimes reading every single blog they have posted. It doesn't stop there. I check out who is following them and sometimes who is following the followers of the followers! I am hunting for kindred spirits, a tribe of like-minded individuals; I am hunting for a prodigious use of language; I am hunting for art I have never seen; I am hunting for nooks and crannies, the secret places we hide the human soul.
I am officially a "cancer surviver", but have taken to reading the obituaries in my morning paper. Yes, I am still that old-fashioned! Cancer kills a lot of us. I read once that the ancient Egyptions, as evidenced from the mummies, never died of cancer. In reading the entire article you discover that their average age at death was forty years old! There is always the "rest of the story", a huge part of our life that is never investigated, never told. I knew a lot of these people in the obituaries. We sat together for four hours every two weeks while getting these chemo-cocktails. I saw their visitors, family and friends as they grew older and lost weight each visit. I participated in their struggle. The obituaries always say, "died of cancer", three little words that bring terror to our hearts and don't even begin to tell a story.
So, in reading these blogs I am learning your stories, and reading your stories make it easier to understand my own.

1 comment:

  1. so you follow me I follow you,,, I know the story... and your right sometimes it is a polite thing to do.. but you know something? every once in a hundred you come upon that one person that you just know will be a friend if only a blogging email type of friend.. and so its worth it. I have 4 or 5 women that I email still after 2 years, almost weekly.. I've heard about the kids. their pets, their struggles. and they know mine.. we've sent each other art pieces, and birthday cards. Yes, its worth it.. and you are one of those people.. Thank you for being a friend. we will always communicate even til I'm an old woman wearing purple.

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