HAY AND STUBBLE

I have been missing in action on social media for the most part since I moved BACK to Fort Worth 11 months ago.  YES, time flies when you are having a good time!  It's a  LONG story and I will not bore you with the details. (I can hear those sighs of THANK GOODNESS!)   While I was busy NOT writing, I was also staying clear, for the most part, of social media.  You might say I "ghosted"  the WWW.  BUT as with most things, it really was not as it appeared--I did not completely leave the social media world.  I was silently checking in-usually once a day.  BUT for the most part I was NOT commenting.  Perhaps the best thing about social media is it keeps us connected with those we hold dear, but seldom see.  

At this moment life has taken on a delectable dull.  I am NOT complaining.  The next whirlwind is literally a stone's throw away and I can see the rotation quickly approaching.  One of life's important lessons is to enjoy the peace when it comes, for it will probably not last long.  Take it when it comes  and relish the peace of the moment.  Someone from my past once explained it in Armed Services terms from the 60's-

"Smoke em if you've got em"

If you need an explanation, please let me know.  My slang expressions are a direct reflection of my age.  Most of the time, especially when talking to anyone younger,  I have to explain exactly what I am saying.  Is is my fault you missed so much?

When I do look at social media, I notice it has morphed into something totally different from the early days.  It seems people like to be communicated with visually as well as audibly these days.  I have been told that the blog is a dying format, and it is  my observation this is true.  It takes a lot of time to sit and write a blog, proof read it, and then add enhancements.  And then there is the issue of attracting an audience (why else would you be publishing or videoing except to get your message out there).  It is not as easy as you would think.  If you have the confidence and ability to produce a good video, this seems to be the way to go today.  Ain't NOBODY got time for a thoughtful discourse that they have NO desire to read.  I do not even have a Tiktok account and am seriously opposed to getting anything else that might require a username and password.  I am already on overload!  I understand there are now visual, fingerprint, and other advanced methods of opening accounts.  Technically I still live in the last century, and all these new-fangled devices are beyond my scope of wanting to even try.  Add to that my deeply introverted personality and life lessons from Momma about when and where it is appropriate to be on the public stage and I have talked myself right out of even thinking about a "live stream."

SO, if I still want a presence on the WWW, if I still have ideas and thoughts I hope to share, it would seem I need to start videoing myself.  For several reasons, I cannot see that EVER happening~

No one wants to hear my redneck twang and it usually shows up if I get on a roll of talking.  There is NO denying it--especially when you have been reminded by loved ones of how you sound.  If I had a beautiful lazy southern drawl, it might be different.  There is a definite difference between Southern Belle and Redneck Drawl.  I have spent the majority of my life in the hills of North Louisiana--close to the Arkansas border.  It left me marked with a twang.  IF I try, I can speak metropolitan---but that takes effort AND why would I want to?

No one wants to see an old woman on social media.  The people I watch on reels are funny (90%) and I have to think about what they even look like.  I am not particularly funny and the older I get the grouchier I become.  My patience has worn thin and NO ONE wants me to get started on a tirade.  Almost everyone I watch seems to be well put together.  No one wants to see me- sans makeup with my comfortable clothes and orthopedic shoes (I have foot issues--so I get a pass).  As you get older, you slowly become more and more invisible.  No one pays much attention to you and I have taken full advantage of this fact.  I dress like I want and spend very little time standing in front of a mirror wondering who the reflection is.   It shows!

No one wants to hear me stutter and stammer while searching for the right words.  I write because I have the most control over what you hear when I can edit it.  I write, I read, I rewrite, I reread, I rearrange, I restate, I check and check before I hit publish.  That is a luxury you do not have on a video.  I watched the documentary recently "Lucy & Desi".  It was fascinating.  One of the things which really struck me was that in the early days of broadcasting Desi did not allow retakes--it was too expensive.  They had to get it right the first time or heads would roll before the next show.  I am not an off the cuff speaker and do not want to appear stupid (sorry I know that is not politically correct).  My thoughts need to be weighed, organized, and proofed before I put them out there.  If I start videoing myself, the followers will abandon ship.  The Titanic will quickly sink to the bottom of the ocean, and someone will recommend remedial public speaking.

SO, Yes, I still have thoughts---but I do not share them very often with anyone these days.  Perhaps I have outlived my "time".  IT is DEFINITELY a new world out there--and I most certainly out of touch.  I lived through the social revolution of the 60's.  In the 60 years since, the world has changed drastically.  Some of the changes are wonderful--others seem to have us careening down the slippery slope.  One of life's lessons has been to keep my mouth shut and let you all come up with your own opinions.  If you wanted my opinion, I am pretty certain you would ask for it.  With that said, I miss my readers and their feedback tremendously.  You are the reason I took pen to paper.  I am so thankful for each of you and the roll you played in making me think.  You are all the motivation I ever needed, but perhaps enough is enough.

  I take each day as it comes these days.  When I become conscious I am still here, early in the predawn hours, I start each day with

"This is the day the Lord has made, I WILL rejoice and BE GLAD in it."

Psalm 118:24

God is incredibly faithful provider of all things necessary and good.  The rest is all earthly hay and stubble which is here today and gone tomorrow.  All things have an expiration date--the question becomes how to recognize we have passed our "Good By" point.