100th Blog

Welcome to my 100th blog! Hey…where are the balloons and streamers? Where’s the cake? Where’s People magazine to commemorate the moment in photos? Oh yeah, that doesn’t happen in real life. Only in Hollywood. But wouldn’t it be nice if, like television shows that make it to 100 episodes, a producer gave me the keys to a snazzy convertible or took me on an all-expenses paid trip to someplace exotic like, say, Fiji?

Some dream, eh? But it’s not gonna happen since my blogs earn no money, unlike those television shows. Nor do I have a producer, for that matter.

Since I’m firmly rooted in reality, I will just have to console myself with the fact that since I’ve passed my 6th month of writing this blog, it has become a habit. Plus, I’ve made it to triple digits and I haven’t (a) been hit too hard with writer’s block, or (b) offended whole segments of readers. At least I don’t think I have.

This morning, however, I did receive my first negative comment (in written form, anyway). Someone wrote, “Wow. That’s a lot of writing for something so lame.”

Stab me in the heart next time, why don’t you?! But I guess if I put it out there, I have to realize that I’m not going to appeal to every reader. But, sheesh…why not just quietly move on? There’s a lot of stuff to see on the Internet. If someone accidentally stumbled upon my blog and thought that 847 words were too many to read, then there are lots of pictures they can look at to occupy their time.

Ooh. I guess the comment stung a little more than I realized and I’m slapping back. Oh well. I’ve always been a little too “thin-skinned” (as “they” say) and take criticism a little harder than my thicker-skinned brethren. I’ve tried to toughen up over the years, but haven’t been able to build up a whole lot of scar tissue.

Which is probably why I don’t write about too many controversial subjects. Well, that plus I’m not very controversial to begin with.

There is a blog I read regularly where the writer takes on all sorts of controversial subjects. The last one I read had to do with vegetarians and vegans. He was not especially complimentary toward those segments of the population. And, boy, did people respond. Some of his fans think everything he writes is hilarious, but many comments were negative and some folks said they were no longer going to read his blog. He seems to like controversy, though, and probably enjoyed the flurry of comments his blog inspired. If nothing else, it is certainly one way to know that people are reading his posts.

My guess is that when this guy was a kid, he welcomed any sort of attention and, if negative attention was all he could get, that’s what he’d take.

Not me. I was all Miss Manners and stuff. I was fairly quiet and shy and didn’t want to draw a whole lot of attention to myself. Mostly because my face would get all red if I had to stand in front of the classroom to recite anything. Yet I had a tiny spark of rebelliousness and I learned it was somewhat safe to make little “asides” or one-liners whenever someone in authority said something and it was a lighter moment. My comment would usually get a laugh, but – again – I wasn’t terribly controversial and most of the time I tried not to make fun of people.

One time, though, I inadvertently insulted a nun. She was one of my favorite nuns, too, so it was pretty horrible getting called out of class to get lectured by her. I don’t even remember what I said – but I vaguely recall hearing the words “dog breath” pop out of my mouth before I could stop myself. Oops. I quickly learned that you don’t mess with the nuns!

I also grew up in the long-gone era when kids were seen but not heard. Screaming fights and yelling, “I hate you!” to our parents? Puh-leaze. That just didn’t happen. Not that we might not have thought it on occasion…but we certainly never said the words out loud.

But that was then and this is now. I’m not nearly as shy and my face doesn’t turn red. Well not as often, anyway. That’s one of the reasons why I like writing so much. It’s a little more “anonymous.” If someone starts to read and the subject doesn’t appeal to them, they can simply stop reading and move on. It’s not like being, say, a comedian where the audience can yell “You suck!” before walking out of a show.

But I guess I will have to expect that, on occasion, someone will write “You suck!” I’ll just have to deal with it.

But I have to tell you, there were probably “lamer” blogs I’ve written than the one I got dissed on. Last night when I read it to Vince, we were laughing so hard I could barely get the words out. It was a great moment between the two of us – and that’s what counts.

So I’ll continue writing my blog. To those of you who haven’t yelled “You suck!” at me and have, instead, given me words of encouragement, I thank you. And I hope some of you are still reading 100 blogs from now.