Back in November, I did a feature I called “Share Your Nostalgia.” I asked some of my blogger friends to write up a piece that focused on their favorite toy from childhood. The response was positive and it was suggested to do another round. So this time around, I asked for them to tell us about their Favorite Childhood Book.
Their book could be something that was read to them by their parents or grandparents. It could also be a book that was read to them in school at story time. I also suggested that their book might be one that they read to their own children. I wanted each of them to have as much freedom as necessary.
Today’s featured guest blogger is one of the first bloggers I connected with after starting this blog 7 years ago. I don’t recall who found who first, but I believe we connected talking about old toys. He’s like an old friend. Max runs the Power Pop Blog and features some great music on there daily.
I’ve been to Tennessee a few times and have experienced some wild times down there. Coincidentally, Max has picked a “wild” one for you and me today.
Where The Wild Things Are
I loved this book as a kid. When I see it I feel like I’m 7 again. The book came out in 1963. I did know some kids that the book really scared, but I thought it was great. As a kid, it was entertaining and enlightening. The other reason I liked it? The leading character’s first name. When I grew up, “Max” was not a common name. If Max was in trouble…the entire school knew what Max they were talking about since I was the only one. It was nice sharing my name with a little boy who could tame monsters.
An animated film was made in 1975 and a feature-length movie in 2009. My son Bailey and I saw it and we enjoyed it together but he knew the book because he enjoyed it as well.
Where The Wild Things Are was written by Maurice Sendak about a boy named Max who “makes mischief” in his house and is sent to bed without supper all while wearing a wolf suit. His room is then transformed into a magic forest and Max sets off in his very own boat to the Land of the Wild Things.
Once there he tames the monsters by staring into their yellow eyes without blinking. Knowing they have met their master, they acclaim Max King of all Wild Things and celebrate their wildness together. When Max decides to return to where someone loves him best of all, the wild things try all their wiles to persuade him to stay, but he sails back into the warmth of his own room and finds supper waiting.
When the book came out some were not happy. Many psychologists thought that the book would be very traumatizing for young children. Sendak has said that the book was banned by libraries for a couple of years and then it started to be accepted and took off.
The trial run of Share Your Nostalgia continues! This was an idea suggested to me by some fellow bloggers. The topic for this feature is “The Toy of Your Life.” Was there one toy that you considered the “best?” When you think of yourself as a child, what is the toy that immediately pops into your mind? What was the toy that you brought to Show and Tell or took with you everywhere?
Today, I welcome a blogger who is no stranger to followers of my page. My good buddy, Max runs the Power Pop Blog (https://powerpop.blog/) and features a lot of great musical posts. He has written guest blogs for my site in the past, and I have returned the favor for his blog. Even though we’ve never met in person, I feel like I’ve been friends with Max for years. I love chatting about music and life with him.
Max and I are about the same age. I believe one of the first conversations we had was about one of my early blogs. Is it a coincidence that the blog was about toys from my childhood? Probably. So what toy is Max picking? Is it one I had too? Let’s find out…
Thank you Keith for inviting me to do this. I really appreciate it! I hope you do more in the future.
Whenever I see red, white, and blue not only do I think of the flag but I think of Evel Knievel. A hero to many in the 1970s… He is responsible for more broken arms, legs, bruises, bumps, and scrapes than anyone… Kids set up homemade ramps and then jumping them with their bicycles. I said kids…it wasn’t exclusive to boys because I remember some girls jumping also.
Riding down hills standing on your seat, popping wheelies, jumping ramps with your buddy stupidly laying in-between. We wanted to be Evel Knievel jumping over those cars or buses.
He was THE Daredevil… There are Daredevils around today but no one has reached the popularity that Knievel achieved. Not only did he jump and crash he looked cool jumping and crashing. He was like a cool Elvis in a jumpsuit jumping various objects.
I got the Evel Knievel Stunt Cycle and Figure when I was 8 years old on Christmas Eve. I have a picture that I can see halfway unwrapped. I immediately started to play with it that night. Over the next couple of months, I would jump everything in sight.
I would make it jump on our porch, our outside dog, and finally, I got a great idea. It took me hours to set it up but I finally got it right. I had ramps going over my mom’s car. I never could get it to go completely over but I got it really close when it came down on the trunk…who needed the Snake Canyon? My mom wasn’t a big fan of the Stunt Cycle…when Evel missed and hit the flowers…some flowers would be missing. When I revved it up in the house…more than one glass shattered making mom shut down my jumping activities.
I wouldn’t mind getting one now to tell you the truth!
Another…well Keith could disqualify this but it was a toy to me…it was called Pong.
Basically, it was magical! It would connect to your television, and you could play table tennis all day long. It was the forerunner of modern games that we have today. It was simple black and white, but I can’t tell you how it felt playing the thing.
I got it around 1977 and we just didn’t have things like this. There is one thing I remember well though…mom made me play it at night or on rainy days. The days were made for kids to go out and play baseball, play in the creek, or ride their bicycles for miles. What I wouldn’t give to relive one of those days being 11 again.
I wish the audio was better on the original commercial:
Yesterday, my Turntable Talk was about the Blues Brothers Soundtrack. Ray Charles is featured on there with his version of Shake a Tailfeather. Also yesterday, my buddy Max from the Power Pop Blog (powerpop.blog) posted about Ray’s version of What’d I Say. That got me in a Ray Charles mood and I was surprised that I’d never posted this song before.
Hallelujah, I Love Her So was written and released by Ray Charles in 1956. I remember playing it on rare occasions when I worked at WHND, Honey Radio in Detroit. It was usually when we were featuring songs from 1956. It didn’t do much on the pop charts, but it was a Top 5 hit on the R&B charts.
As the title insinuates, it has a gospel feel to it. The opening piano lick sounds like something you’d hear before jumping into a happy hymn. One source says the song “is a testament to the joyous release of love, featuring a sophisticated horn arrangement and memorable tenor sax solo by Don Wilkerson.”
My buddy Randy from http://www.mostlymusiccovers.com no doubt knows that there have been plenty of covers of this song. Ray must have been thrilled to have his song covered by folks like Ella Fitzgerald, Peggy Lee, Brenda Lee, Jerry Lee Lewis, Stevie Wonder, Eddie Cochran, Gerry and the Pacemakers, and Frank Sinatra! Oh, and a band called the Quarrymen (who went on to become the Beatles) also covered it!
To start with, here is the original by Ray:
Ella Fitzgerald’s version sounds a bit more church-like to start, but really swings.
From the Beatles Anthology, here are the Quarrymen
Eddie Cochran’s version was released in 1959
I had no idea that Jerry Reed covered it, but it’s neat to hear his take
Sinatra always makes a song his own and he does that with this one. Very bluesy
Hugh Laurie’s version was on the deluxe version of his debut album
Of all the covers, one of my favorite versions is by an Australian singer named Guy Sebastian. From his Memphis Album he a great version.
I hope you love this one as much as I do!
Hallelujah, I Love Her SO
Let me tell you ’bout a girl I know She is my baby and she lives next door Every mornin’ ‘fore the sun comes up She brings me coffee in my favorite cup That’s why I know, yes, I know Hallelujah, I just love her so
When I’m in trouble and I have no friend I know she’ll go with me until the end Everybody asks me how I know I smile at them and say, “She told me so” That’s why I know, oh, I know Hallelujah, I just love her so
Now, if I call her on the telephone And tell her that I’m all alone By the time I count from one to four I hear her (KNOCK) on my door In the evening when the sun goes down When there is nobody else around She kisses me and she holds me tight
And tells me, “Ray Charles everything’s all right” That’s why I know, whoa, I know Hallelujah, I just love her so
Now, if I call her on the telephone And tell her that I’m all alone By the time I count from one to four I hear her (KNOCK) on my door
In the evening when the sun goes down When there is nobody else around She kisses me and she holds me tight And tells me, “Daddy, everything’s all right” That’s why I know, yes, I know Hallelujah, I just love her so
Oh, hallelujah Don’t you know, I just love her so She’s my little woman, waitin’ all this time Babe, I’m a little fool for you, little girl…
I was approached by my blogger buddy, Max, from the PowerPop Blog recently and asked to contribute something for his “Beatles Week” feature. In truth, it will probably go longer than a week as there are many talented writers participating with me. I think his original thought was to have each of us write about a favorite Beatles song, but then he allowed us to pursue something “Beatle themed.”
I think I have mentioned in the past that it would be extremely difficult for me to pick one favorite Beatles song. There are just too many great ones to choose from. I could spend hours talking about the fantastic harmonies of the group or the amazing songwriting contributions of Lennon and McCartney. I could also examine the way George Harrison’s guitar playing matured as the group got older. Instead, I chose to focus on the Beatle that I connected with as a young fan discovering the band – Ringo Starr.
As a kid, I discovered the Beatles through their cartoon series (as well as albums that my dad had). While the boys didn’t voice the characters themselves, it featured many of their songs and put them in silly situations. Ringo always seemed to be the goofball and I guess I found him to be the funniest.
As I began to buy Beatles albums on my own, I often found that the “Ringo” cut of each album tended to really stand out as a favorite. Let me be clear, it is not that I disliked the other guys, the opposite was true. I loved them! However, the “Ringo” cut just really had a different sound to it.
As many know, Ringo was not the original drummer for the band. Pete Best was the guy. The rumors were that he was pretty good looking and a fan favorite, so they got rid of him. How true that is, I don’t know. The boys recruited Ringo from another band (Rory Storm and the Hurricanes). Once the group got their recording contract and started sessions with George Martin, Ringo was dissed a bit. Martin felt that he was not a good enough drummer to do studio work. Eventually, Martin came around and not only was he in the recording sessions, he occasionally got to sing on a song or two.
In total, Ringo Starr sang lead vocals on 11 Beatles songs. The first was “Boys,” which was a cover of a Shirelles song. The song was one that the Beatles had been playing in their live shows for some time. Pete Best used to sing it in shows. Ringo knew the song and had performed it many times with his previous group. When the band was in the studio cutting the 1963 album “Please Please Me” he sang it in one take.
The group had been playing “Boys” for years before it was ever recorded. It was the only song that Ringo sang lead on and his loyal fans wanted to hear more. John, Paul, and George were getting tired of the song and when it was time to record their second album, Lennon and McCartney worked together to write a song for Ringo that would replace “Boys.” The song would be “I Wanna Be Your Man.”
Before they went into the studio, another British group approached Lennon and McCartney and asked if they had a song that they might record. They decided to give them “I Wanna Be Your Man.” That song became the first “hit” for Mick Jagger and The Rolling Stones!
Carl Perkins was responsible for Ringo’s next two vocal songs. First, was “Matchbox” which Perkins had a hit with in 1957. This song (and his next vocal) was responsible for the association of Ringo with rockabilly/country music. Word is that Perkins was in the studio while the Beatles recorded his songs.
For the 1964 album “Beatles For Sale,” Ringo contributed the lead vocal to Perkins’ “Honey Don’t.” Carl Perkins influenced a lot of Liverpool bands and Ringo was playing this one in his prior group before joining the Beatles. It was another song that Pete Best sang lead on in early live performances. John Lennon began singing it after Best left, but the band agreed that it was a perfect Ringo song for the album.
Ringo had decided that he wanted to have a bit more input in the songs that he was to sing. During the recording sessions for “Help” in 1965, he came upon the Buck Owens song “Act Naturally.” He brought it to the band and said he felt it would be a great song for him. They all agreed and cut it. This would mark the first Beatles cover song that they had not already been playing at live shows.
Ringo, while not best known for his song writing, did write a few for the band. By this time, John, Paul and George were all churning out songs. The three seemed to be doing everything and Ringo felt like he was being left out and maybe even someone who could easily be replaced. He went to the group and voiced his concerns. This led to his first song writing credit on a Beatles song. The song was What Goes On. The song was not all Ringo, as it was actually a song that John had originally written and Ringo tweaked and contributed to.
Yellow Submarine appeared on the 1966 Revolver album. It was a big song for Ringo as it went to #1 in the UK and #2 in the US. In Alan Clayson’s book, “Ringo Starr: Straight Man or Joker,” he says that the song was “conceived as a song that would appeal primarily to children, while recalling the band’s roots in Liverpool.” The song was written mostly by Paul McCartney and it is said that Donovan also helped (while being uncredited).
If you had to pick a “signature” song for Ringo, it would be “With a Little Help from My Friends.” The song is the second track on the Sgt. Pepper Album. The album itself was sort of a concept album where the band is playing … well, another band. In the album’s opening track, the character of Billy Shears is introduced. Even Ringo has stated that for the cut he is “taking on” the character of Shears to sing the song. The song was one that was written specifically for Ringo by John and Paul.
Ringo’s next vocal feature was one that he wrote. “Don’t Pass Me By” was one that came to him while sitting at the piano. He claims to only know a few chords on the piano and guitar. He says that while he plays around, if a melody comes to him or some words, he just keeps playing around. This is supposedly how “Don’t Pass Me By” came to be. There is some confusion as to when exactly the song was written, and while it may have been written as early as 1964, it was never recorded and released until 1968 on the White Album.
Alan Clayson says in his book that Ringo had unknowingly plagiarized music from a Jerry Lee Lewis song. It was only when George Martin was experimenting with different effects and orchestration that the song was able to be released (now sounding very musically different from it’s original version).
The song “Good Night” from the White Album was written by John Lennon. He wrote it for his five year old son, Julian. Lennon was very insistent that the song be sung by Ringo. What is interesting is that Ringo is the only Beatle who performs on the song. The music is provided by classical session musicians under the direction of producer George Martin.
Ringo’s last songwriting credit for the band appears on the 1969 album, Abbey Road. Many compare “Octopus’s Garden” to “Yellow Submarine.” Other’s compare it to an amazing and peaceful under-the sea world. This song, however, was written by Ringo at a time when things were less than peaceful with the group.
The story goes that Ringo was so angry that he walked out of a recording session because he was angry at Paul McCartney. Paul had reportedly been making comments about Ringo’s drumming, and so he left. He spent time relaxing on the Italian island of Sardinia. While there, he became fascinated by the ocean and sea life. This led to him writing the song.
When Ringo returned to the Abbey Road studios, he found that the rest of the band had decorated his drum set with flowers and found a gift from John, Paul and George as an apology. He showed the song to them and George Harrison worked with him to get the song ready to record.
After the Beatles broke up, each went on to have solo hits. Ringo enjoyed success with “Back off Boogaloo,” “Photograph,” “You’re Sixteen,” “The No No Song,” and “It Don’t Come Easy.” He continues to tour with his All-Starr Band and sells out venues.
“Peace and Love” – Ringo Starr
Perhaps if world leaders, politicians, and people in general listened to Ringo, the world would be a better place.
I’ve been struggling to write. I’m sure it is because I have had a lot of things on my mind over the past couple weeks. The things on my mind are not necessarily things I want to write about. It’s hard to be in this place. I’m still struggling to get through it, and pray that everything will be ok. That being said, I decided to sit and write about some happy things from the past few days.
“Raising Gamers?”
I usually only play on the X-box when the kids are asleep. Recently, I was in the middle of a game and Andrew woke up from his nap. I paused the game, went and got him, and spent two minutes finishing the silly car race. He loves the controllers of the game. Another time, Ella was done with her nap and came in to the bedroom where she saw me playing “the car game.”
Now, Andrew will grab a controller and point to the bedroom. He wants to play the game. Ella does, too. So I pulled the batteries out of two controllers and they hold them while I drive around. They, of course, think they are playing! It’s fun to watch them.
Too Many Tonies?
Remember a while back I mentioned the Tonie that the kid’s Aunt Margaret sent? We have ordered a few more to play on it. I guess we didn’t realize how many we had until we lined them up on the mantle.
Many of them have songs, some have stories, and some have both. It has been so nice and has helped keep the TV time down to a minimum. If you have little ones, it is worth every penny!
Too Many Ninis and the Genius of Andrew
From my wife’s Facebook:
Andrew is only suppose to have his pacifiers at bedtime. All of a sudden we were missing a TON of his pacifiers. There was none left in the diaper bag or his crib… yet all day long he would show up with one and we are constantly taking them from him.
Tonight while cleaning I found out that my brilliant child at 1 years old has hidden his pacifiers throughout the house. I have found 6 of his hiding places. I’m not even mad, I am truly impressed!
I swear, he is a genius. He plants them everywhere and knows exactly where to get one when we take one away!
Bunnies!
Our photographer friend, Beth (From Enjoy the View Photography), had Spring “Mini” sessions this week. We booked a session for just the kids. Originally, we were going to have them dress up like in Easter attire. Sam decided that she was going to have Ella in the outfit she was in for her birthday, and match Andrew up with her in some overalls. They looked so cute together!
As a bonus, Beth had real live bunnies for the session. Ella was so excited when she heard about them. We didn’t really know what to expect, but I think we were able to get some good pictures. We’ll know soon. I snapped just one that has a funny story to go with it.
Beth had a bag of carrots to feed the bunnies. The carrot that is in Andrew’s mouth, was just in the bunny’s mouth about two seconds before I snapped this. Well, at least it is a healthy snack!
Fab Four Week
I took part in a feature hosted by Max at the PowerPop Blog about the Beatles. The feature continues for the next few days. His idea was to write about your favorite Beatles song – or anything Beatles related. My write up gives a nod to one of the boys. Which one? Watch for the post in the next day or two.
My Guest Ideas
Last week I mentioned that I was thinking about hosting something similar to what Max is doing and what Dave does with Turntable Talk. I am still trying to think about whether I want to do something music, movie or TV related. Stay tuned…..
I stumbled on the above quote as I sat here thinking. If writing (or blogging) is the best way to improve my thinking, I figured I would just start typing and publish whatever winds up here.
Looking Ahead
I just finished another post for Dave Ruch’s Turntable Talk recently and I have come to really look forward to it. Yesterday, I put the finishing touches on an post I wrote for Max at the PowerPop blog. He is doing a “Beatles” themed week. Watch for that to post here in a week or so.
Max and Dave are just a couple of the normal bloggers that I have come to know. There are many others who participate in these monthly (or occasional) features. In the past I have also participated in Blogathons about movies and other “themed” features. I have also done “answers” to interview questions for more than one blog about radio, sleep, and other nonsense.
I say all that because I have often thought about hosting some sort of “theme” feature. Maybe not a monthly one, but an occasional one. Would any of my readers even want to commit to something like that? I don’t know if it would be music, movie, or book related. I really don’t even know what I could come up with. I know that my followers have increased because of “cross blogging,” so maybe I could help others get a few extra followers, too. My mind is still churning this around.
I have also had a couple “Guest Bloggers” here. I would love to do that again. My brother (who does not have a blog) wrote some very fun stuff about me and Max offered up some Beatles thoughts (no surprise there!). I have featured poetry from a few poets I follow that hit home. I wonder what the best way to handle a “guest” blog would be. Is it an interview? Is it giving a topic? I don’t know.
I did a few “call outs” to Facebook friends who could provide questions that they’d want me to answer on here. Keith’s Q&A. I did that a couple times and it was fun. The last time I asked for questions, I got stuff like “If a train leaves the station at midnight … blah blah blah.” I know they were trying to be funny, but I was hoping to get some serious questions.
The whole thing is churning around in my mind like when I used to try to create a bit to air on my radio show. The idea or topic is there – I just need to find the angle or the punchline to create around it. For now, I will keep thinking. If you have done anything similar, I’d be open to your ideas. If you have an idea for something you’d love to write about, let’s chat about it.
A to Z
Do you do the A to Z April Blog challenge? A couple blogs I follow have mentioned that it is coming up and to begin planning for it. Basically, you write about something every day for the month and each day the topic is a different letter – starting with A and going to Z. Some pages offer themes for the challenge – Favorite Books, TV Shows, Movies, Actors, etc…
Committing to an entire month sounds difficult to me, so I am trying to decide whether or not to participate. I guess I will have to see if I can find theme that I wouldn’t mind visiting 26 days in a row (although I think you take Sundays off). More to come on that ….
Contact
If you would like to write something or offer an idea that you would rather not put in the comments, you can reach me at: nostalgicitalian@yahoo.com
Followers of my blog know that I’ve been participating in a TV Show Draft, which just wrapped up. It’s like a Fantasy Football Draft, in that there are a predetermined number of rounds. Each participant waits their turn and announces their pick – and writes about it.
The blog started at Hanspostcard’s site, and it was picked up by Max over at the Power Pop blog when Hans had to take a break. Max and I actually spoke when Hans had to take his break. There were emails between the participants discussing whether or not the draft should continue.
Max stepped up and announced that he would be willing to host the draft on his site so it could continue. For that, I need to extend a thank you to him. It would up being a very entertaining draft that introduced me to shows I had never heard of, shows that I wasn’t sure about watching, and old favorites.
I also extend a thank you to all of the bloggers who posted their draft picks. There was quite a variety throughout the draft. More on that in a minute.
I’m happy I got to write on the shows I did. I also enjoyed seeing other people’s take on some I was familiar with. I look forward to checking out some of the news ones that peaked my interest.
Because there were so many other great shows chosen, and because Max put them all in one place, I wanted to share the link so YOU can read them, too.
Well, here it is – my 300th blog post. To be completely honest, I have a few more than 300, but some were kept private. So this is my 300th “published” blog. Over the past few blogs, I knew this milestone blog was coming, and wondered just how a blogger celebrates this kind of achievement. I found that most look back and reflect on stats.
I don’t know about doing that. Does it matter that the most popular day my blog is viewed is Thursday? Are you impressed that in the first 299 blogs I have written 64,488 words? Does it thrill you to know that each blog averages about 921 words? I highly doubt that means anything to you.
A Short Reflection
300 blogs. It is amazing to actually look back and see the wide variety of content that I covered since beginning this blog:
The blog is full of many posts about music – some about specific tunes (Tune Tuesday) and some filled with many songs.
There have been many blogs about television – whether it be actual shows or just theme songs.
I have also written many blogs about movies – some as part of blogathons hosted by other bloggers and some of my personal favorites.
There have been blogs about holidays from throughout the year – some contain specific memories and some are just general thoughts.
I have written special blogs to family and friends – my mom, my dad, my grandparents, my godfather, my kids, my wife, and my lifelong friends.
There have been no shortage of radio stories about listeners and coworkers.
Some blogs were just full of random thoughts and observations.
There were blogs about celebrities – some funny, some musical, some just for the hell of it.
I shared the love story of my wife and me.
I shared with family and friends the news on our miracle baby and blogged about the days that led up to her arrival.
Of course, after she was born, there have been many wonderful stories and things to share about her as she continues to grow up.
I was honored to have my brother write a guest blog for me (and hope to have more in the future).
I opened up about many personal things – my divorce, thoughts on suicide, the changes in my personal life, reflections on life and death, my faith, and so many other topics I kept to myself.
There have been some “Question and Answer” blogs that contained things asked of me by friends and family.
Looking back, I am impressed with myself. Who knew I had it in me?
New Connections
If you have a Facebook, you know that they will occasionally give you friend suggestions. They will offer up “People You May Know.” Many of those suggestions stem from mutual friends. There are people that pop up and I have 65 mutual friends with them because we went to the same high school together, or we both have the same radio friends, etc…
With this blog, we don’t have that feature. However, through searching things for things like movies, TV, music, and such, I have found many bloggers that share my interests. I follow quite a few blogs and continue to add more to my “read” list. Some of those bloggers offer up personal stuff like I do on occasion. Some respond with personal stories to my personal blogs. Through that, I feel like I know many of them.
Max is a good example of this. He has blogged about things I remember and vice versa. We also share many of the same musical tastes. He actually helped me set up the index on the side of the blog. Since doing that, more of my older blogs are being read than before. We swapped e-mails and eventually phone numbers. When I called him to talk about the index and creating some pages, it was like talking to someone I had known for years. How cool is that?
Lessons Learned
After 300 blogs, I think it is important to note some of the things I have learned since the beginning. If you are a new blogger, maybe some of my observations can be useful to you.
Even with spellcheck, I make mistakes. I found going back through some older blogs that there are some typos. Some are spelling mistakes, some are grammatical. My one radio buddy, who also works for a newspaper, told me I need an editor. He then proceeded to tell me I couldn’t afford him! I need to be better at proofreading.
There really is no way to know which blogs will be popular. I have written blogs that I think will get a great response, only to see that is not the case. At the same time, I have written blogs that I feel are just “ok” topics, and had a ton of hits on it. You never really know. It hurts your ego a bit when a blog you think is great is barely read, but that’s the way it goes sometimes.
Keywords matter. I try to include as many “tags” as I can with each blog. I have found that this will ultimately lead to more followers and readers. My most read blog? It is about a scammer. I got an e-mail saying that someone noticed I spelled a word wrong and said I should download some app. With research, I found the app is actually something you want to avoid. The keyword “Scam” or “Scammer” has lead to many reading that blog and some even commenting saying that they got the same type of e-mail.
The personal blogs I wrote about suicide, divorce, staying positive, dealing with a narcissist, and depression led to many new people following this blog. Some went as far as to reach out and share their own stories about those things. You know, sometimes, it helps to know you aren’t the only one dealing with those issues.
Each blog represents a moment in time. It represents what I felt at a certain moment in time. Early on in my therapy, I was angered easily. I didn’t realize how certain things by certain people triggered it. I was not a pleasant person. Over time, I have learned to not let those things trigger anger. I have learned coping skills. I am a different person than who I was.
Think about your favorite TV show. Did you like it immediately? The first time I watched Seinfeld or Cheers, I was not impressed. Over time, I came to enjoy the shows more. At one moment in time, you may feel one way, and over time you can feel another way.
Many of my blogs are memories that I want to preserve for the future. Other blogs are about things I have observed. At the time, I felt a certain way about things – over time, my thoughts or feelings might change. It helps to keep that in perspective.
Write about what you are passionate about! Chances are if you are passionate about it, a reader will find it interesting. This same principle was suggested to me when I worked in radio. Share things that “make you feel!” Some readers love my musical blogs while some prefer my more personal ones. I am passionate about everything I write, however, not all things will appeal to everyone. Anyone who comes to this blog will see my love for all things entertainment, but also see my love for my family and my children!
Another principle from radio that translated to writing a blog is to simply “observe life.” Look around and take notice. A successful stand up comedian is one who observes little things, talks about it, and the audience says “Oh yeah! I have noticed that too!” George Carlin was a master observer! Take those things that you observe and relay them. You know the whole “which way should the toilet paper roll go on” thing was simply something that someone wondered about, right!?
I always loved the above Far Side Cartoon. It points out another lesson I have learned. Be yourself. You don’t have to agree with everything I write. That’s ok. You have a right to disagree with me. However, when I write, I’m going to be myself.
While it can sometimes feel like work, I find blogging to be fun. I enjoy writing. I also enjoy hearing from readers who comment on my blog. That’s as much fun as writing them.
There are some blogs that I just sit and write. Others (most of them), it takes time to plan out. Either way, I try to give myself time to think it through and get the flow. It takes time and sometimes, you have to MAKE time to write.
So there you have it ….
Blog #300. As a follower, I need to say thank you. I am truly glad that you are here. I always welcome your suggestions. How can I make this blog more enjoyable for you? Would you like to be a guest blogger? Please feel free to let me know. What do you like? What don’t you like? Feel free to suggest other blogs I might be interested in. Feel free to share this one with others.
Thank you so much for reading. Here is to the next 300 ….
Various Ramblings of a Nostalgic Italian 