First things first: I owe a truckload of gratitude to the WordPress staffer who selected last Friday evening’s entry, “The Day an Empty Chair Ruled the Internet” as a feature selection for the WordPress.com Freshly Pressed page. Before that happened, I honestly thought the page was automated and random. Based on the gracious emails I received that offered me some proofreading and specific content input before the FP slotting went live, I’ve confidently shelved that theory.
I also owe many sincere thanks to you, the Viewers at Home, who were kind enough to give it a look-see and leave feedback. The response has overwhelmed me more with its kindness and generosity than with its appreciable volume. My Labor Day weekend took a vastly different direction than the quiet doldrums I’d anticipated. Keeping up with the replies has been a fun ‘n’ lively time, and I’ve also found myself with a plethora of new blogs and writers to check out.
For anyone who’s returned here and sampled any fare beyond the Empty Chair Blues, it’s my sincere hope that other future entries will be of some use or entertainment value to you as well. I aim for one entry per day, based on whatever’s preoccupying my mind at any given moment. The inconsistent MCC experience is fairly consistent with the scattershot nature of my aging mindset. Nine times out of ten it’s entertainment (comics, movies, TV, whatever) because of my lifelong unapologetic nerdist tendencies and my never-ending curiosity about the arts and assorted acts of creation from a variety of perspectives. Every so often I open up about my faith, though not nearly as often as I should. As special events have been occurring of late, I’ve shared experiences with fan conventions and our family’s annual road trips. Once in a blue moon I’ll write something about Indiana, even though no one ever reads those, not even other Hoosiers.
I assume “Empty Chair” will be escorted off the FP page in due time, and my daily experience here will remain on track. I’ll do my best to hold onto my sense of proportion and not print up thousands of business cards bearing the FP stamp and the obnoxious, self-anointed title of CERTIFIED WRITER. If I do, please shoot me down…and feel free to take a card.
Thanks for reading, and a round of hugs for everyone.
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Midlife Crisis Crossover! 
It was a great title, great post, you deserve to be Freshly Pressed! I hope I am someday, too.
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Thanks for the kinds words. It happened to me after four months on WordPress, so I like to think your turn will come. 🙂
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I didn’t turn egomaniacal with the FP experience, just completely neurotic about stats. I’m coming back down now, being forced to focus on quality and not quantity again and am even slightly depressed. I think THAT makes me a certified writer!
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Well said! I’m trying really hard to focus on quality and what I think I do best, though there’s certainly a temptation to fixate on that traffic spike. It’s all I can do to resist the urge to crank out thirty more posts about the empty chair to capitalize on the moment. That would be very easy for me if I put my mind to it, but would look tacky and get old quickly.
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Congratulations to you. Getting Freshly Pressed is quite an accomplishment.
I want to thank you for choosing my blog as one that you’ve checked out, then decided to follow. That–to me–is a great honor.
Thank and I will oblige you as well. 🙂
Peace,
Alexandria
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Thanks very much for the kind response in turn. 🙂 Your blog struck me with the gorgeous photos, the interesting pieces by the Guest Author, and the G. K. Chesterton quote in the August 15th entry, which gave me pause for contemplation in the middle of a weekend in which I’ve had to work harder than usual to focus on the real priorities. In short, the right words at the right time. Maybe it sounds like a little thing, but I appreciated that.
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You SO should make business cards with FP on them! People make business cards for a lot less, like “VP of Operations”… or “Kim Kardashian.” I think Honey Boo Boo has a business card.
Enjoyed both of these entries. Keep it up, you certified writer you!
-SB
Here’s my Eastwood rant, if you care to sample…
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Consider your rant hereby sampled!
And I appreciate the encouragement. I’ve never been called a certified writer before. That should go right in the old resumé, along with the FP logo. and a photo of myself holding a Certificate of Authenticity verifying my writerliness. This could be big!
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You should also consider making t-shirts with the FP logo. Make sure to put your face with you doing the “thumbs up” gesture. All class!
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I read the post and thought it was well-written. But it was this post that makes me want to follow your blog. So I’d like to re-congratulate you. 🙂
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Thanks! I do what I can with what I’ve got to work with. 🙂
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