Monday, September 5, 2011

Monday Reruns: And the BON Goes To...

(original post-date: September 1, 2010)


FADE IN.

We see a virtual ballroom in Hollywood. The crowd gathered and filling the seats is represented exclusively by little square-shaped icons. In some cases, a single face occupies the square. In other instances, it is a pair of faces representing two generations.

There’s also a tree (or the top of one).

A ladybug.

A bicycle.

The face of a dog.

THE ANNOUNCER calls out a name that not everyone hears (because, at the moment, not everyone is online). One of the squares appears shocked and surprised. Maybe even a little flustered.


Shaking her imagined forearms excitedly, she (the icon; the square) races to the stage. "Jeez!" she begins, clearly excited. "I didn’t even know my category was coming up, and here I am! Yeah, so, …uh, I wanna thank the academy. … my producers. … my agent. Oh wow… … Oh and yeah, Griffin! Vesta! Lotto! You cats at home… Go to bed already!"

FADE OUT.

What a crock of a fantasy.

Cats sleep 18 hours a day.

It is absurd to imagine any moment – no matter how lofty or ephemeral – that would justify telling cats to go to bed.

… I also belong to no academies.

I have no producers.

As for getting an agent? No one can say I haven’t tried.

But I still have something to thank: The First Amendment.

If you haven’t read it lately, you should.

But, if you haven’t read it lately, you also shouldn’t feel like a slacker.

Seriously.

Me? I just found it online (had to, since I mentioned it). And so – just now – I read it fully for the first time in God knows how long.

Not only did I read it, I copied it for all of us.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

So there you have it.

… I had a grievance for many years. (Actually, I wouldn’t normally call it a “grievance,” but I’m trying to do a segue here, so work with me.) I was despondent at times because, although I love to write, no one in the world of ten-percenters seemed to care.

I entered the blogosphere reluctantly, my grievance on my shoulder.

I have since discovered a peaceable assembly.

It is called Words of Wisdom (appropriately, WOW), and the website, which was launched by two wise women named Pam and Sandy, celebrates blogs of substance.

Today, I am WOW’s Blogger of Note (BON), and per the BON tradition, I will share with you links to three previous posts.

I hope you have the time to take a look. And if you don’t have the time now, I hope you’ll come back.

*Technology is a subject I cannot get away from, and that’s because it concerns me… The technology is developed, after all. Us? Not so much. Here’s a piece I wrote after watching footage of a community parade: The Subtext of Texting.

*Do you shop at Trader Joe’s? Click here.

*Alright then, Ikea?

I chose those three posts intuitively. Now, as I look at what I just typed, I fear you might think I’m all about shopping.

Don’t even go there.

There’s really not that much about shopping in those second two posts. They’re more about life… and the words that go into it.

I am grateful to the First Amendment for letting me share my life in words.

I am grateful to WOW for peaceable assembly.

2011 Postscript: The WOW site closed up shop sometime in the past year. It's too bad, as it was a great meeting place, and some of my favorite bloggers are those I first met among the WOW groupies.

16 comments:

writing and living by Richard P Hughes said...

At least you still hold the dream.

sonia said...

Congrats on your BON! Will check out your posts...

cj Schlottman said...

Katie,

This is great. It brings back memories of when I got the BON. I had not been online for very long, and it was so validating.

As far as I'm concerned, every post you publish is a winner of the BON award.

Namaste..........cj

Elisa DeLany said...

WOW sounded like it was amazing, and I'm glad you were able to take part in it.

Su said...

Blog reruns are great, aren't they? It's like the post writes itself, lol! ;) And yeah, cats have this thing about deciding their own bedtimes which, I notice, do not usually coincide with the bedtimes of any humans in the house.

Cheryl said...

I miss WOW. I met quite a few folks over there that I still keep up with. Who know? You may have been one of them.

Anonymous said...

I'm with you about our 1st Ammendment Rights. :) There are times when a$$holes abuse it, but the freedom to have and express our opinions is one of the things that makes America such a great, and free, country. :)

Samantha VĂ©rant said...

I've never heard of WOW, but I have heard of the 1st Amendment. And shopping. : )

Donna K. Weaver said...

*heads over*

Anonymous said...

Hi Katie, I'm replying to the comment you left on my blog - yep, I'm a Virginia gal, from the Valley :)

Anonymous said...

Such a shame that WOW! closed - I was lucky enough to be a BON and in the same fortnight, it was you Katie who bestowed upon me, 'One Lovely Blog Award'. These small gestures make quite a difference in the blogging world and I have met many people through them. I am pretty sure I met you first via a linkedIn group - is that right?? Anyway, glad I did! :-)

Gail Shepherd said...

Belated congratulation on being a Blogger of Substance, and also on pressing on with your blog long enough to have reruns! As a new blogger I think it might be pushing it to rerun a post I just put up last week, eh? I hope I'll still be around this time next year and will follow your good example.

Emily R. King said...

I went to IKEA for the first time last week. It blew my mind! So awesome. I already have a list made for when I go back.

yikici said...

Congrats, hope you continue on with your success -was just popping by as fellow campaigner of the contemp/mainstream group to say hi and hope to be back soon(ish).

Andrea said...

I think this may be how I found both you and Deborah (Barker) and so I'm grateful for it. Sorry to hear it has closed.

Anonymous said...

Well said, Katie. I'm a tech geek so I love that topic.