My humble thanks…

I’ve been following the musings of a Muggle in Converse for a while now, and have enjoyed immensely the thoughts she has shared on her blog. In many ways, she has helped me understand myself better, as a thinker, as a writer, and as a person. I now consider her a friend, and I am once again in her debt. This time, for having nominated me for the Versatile Blogger award. We all want to believe that someone out there is listening, that someone out there cares what’s going on in our hearts and in our minds, and it means the world to me to know that she, for one, does.

(By the way, you should probably also check out her other blog, which is a totally different animal, but just as compelling. There’s a poet in all of us, and this is where hers comes out to play. Her fiction’s worth a look, too!)

Let’s see. Seven things that you don’t know about me. Seven things that haven’t come out in one or another of my many exercises in verbal vomit-ifying. Hmm…

1) One of the many things I discovered while I was a poor college student is that bacon bits on wheat toast is a damn tasty snack.
2) I am terrified of dentists and everything they stand for.
3) My five favorite states, in order of preference, are Missouri (I was born there), New Mexico, Arkansas, North Carolina, and Kansas (which is a much prettier state than you’ve been led to believe).
4) I never fly if I can drive (which means if it’s in the continental United States, I’m driving), not because I’m afraid of flying, but because I hate to miss out on everything in between.
5) I named my second puppy Suntan Sneezer Scrooge. I also had a turtle named Humbug. This is what happens when your father encourages you to read Dickens at a young age…
6) I have punched one person in my life, when I was 12, and I knocked out two of his teeth. Which is not to say I’m tough, so much as to explain why I’ve never punched anyone again. I think I was more traumatized than he was.
7) When I was 13 years old, I buried a time capsule (read, coffee can full of junk) on my grandparents’ farm. Then they moved the fencerow. I’ve been searching for the thing ever since.

Now that’s out of the way, here are my nominations for this lovely award:

First, my very good friend Jessica over at Shift. (By the way, the post I’ve linked to is the one that hooked me.) She’s been nominated for this award before, but I’m doing it again anyway because, well, you can’t stop me, and what’s more, I would be remiss in not mentioning writing that has meant so much to me. Whether poetry or prose, Jess always has something to say that’s more than worth hearing.

Then, there’s another good friend, Tina, over at Verbalizations & Such. I’ve known Tina for a long time; longer, in fact, than I’ve been working on this blog. She put up with me invading her office space back in my grad student days. Before that, she dubbed me Aquaman, due to my unfortunate posting as plant waterer to the Baylor Libraries. I’ve learned something about Tina since I began reading her poetry. You might not know it from passing acquaintance–I didn’t know it, or at least fully appreciate it, when I knew her at the library–but she sees the world with a subtlety that surprises and destroys (in a good way). It tears down walls and allows glimpses into an inner being of startling beauty and perception; it does not allow for subterfuge; it bleeds, it screams, it cries; it awakens. I am proud to count her among my friends. She needs more readers, so GO and see what she’s talking about.

Next, there’s Tony, at things+flesh, who brings a songwriter’s sensibility to, well, pretty much everything he sees. I have met a lot of people in my life, on a few continents, and I can honestly say that I have never encountered such a unique manner of living the world as I have reading the beautiful little snippets of experience he recounts in his posts. I have yet to read a single thing he’s written that hasn’t touched me profoundly, and I challenge you to try.

Another of my favorites is JF Toomey, at Musing Forward. (Again, the link is to one of my favorite poems.) He doesn’t write frequently, but when he does, it’s always unique, always interesting. Anyone who can make a visit to the restroom into a matter for poetry, and in doing so create a scenario with which we can all of us likely relate, is worth a listen.

And a couple of honorable mentions: there’s Madalyn the Muggle, but she nominated me, which means someone else just nominated her. But if she hadn’t nominated me, I’d have nominated her. She’s gutsy, and she says what’s on her mind, no holds barred. You may not agree with what she has to say (although I generally do), but at the very least you’ll appreciate her candor in saying it.

And Victoria, at NeuroNotes. Madalyn beat me to her with this, but if she hadn’t done it, I would have. Many of us have had the pleasure of watching Victoria emerge from her cocoon over the last year or so, and it turns out she’s quite the butterfly. I admire people who are not afraid of themselves, and she definitely is not. And she’s not afraid to share who she is with us. Bold as I may be with the things I say, without Victoria’s influence and encouragement I would not be half as bold as I am. She is a role model, and I’m grateful to call her my friend.

You are the people that make blogging a worthwhile effort for me. Each of  you has given me the joy and privilege of meeting you in your writing. You all make my days better, brighter, and more thought-provoking, and you have my thanks and my admiration for that.

Shine on!