I have been nominated for two awards: The Versatile Blogger Award and the Very Inspiring Blogger award by the remarkable  John W. Howell, at Fiction Favorites. If you are a lover of words and books, you should visit his site. There’s a lot to see and a great deal to learn.

He is a multi-talented man and he shares his experience and knowledge freely. John, for his part, received this pair of awards from Katrina Perkins, a woman whose blog is always worth a visit since she has great scoops on the stage and film-making businesses. It was Katrina’s idea to package this pair of awards into one called The Dragon’s Loyalty Award.

She created a special logo for this duo. It’s on the right. You might not want it on the coffee table, though for me, it depends on the size of the dragon. If it’s a little dragon, I might quite enjoy having it front and center in the living room. Keep the pups in their place. Besides, we already have a plethora of statuettes. Not mine, but impressive enough for a couple.

In an interesting boomerang karmic return, Natasha Harmer at Films and Things has also honored me after one of my honorees honored her,  and I want to thank her most warmly for liking me enough to select me. Please take a look at her site too. She talks with great intelligence and class about movies and things. Just like the name of her site implies.

Usually, there are a few rules that go with awards and this is no exception:

1. Display the Award Certificate on your website
2. Announce your win with a post and link to whoever presented your award
3. Present 15 awards to deserving bloggers
4. Drop them a comment to tip them off after you’ve linked them in the post
5. Post 7 interesting things about yourself.

This is a most propitious day to accept awards. A bunch of milestones have collided, perhaps related only circumstantially but to me, it all feels related.

1000 Posts and Counting

Yesterday, when I posted a reblog from Catnip of Life, I was caught by surprise to realize it was my 1000th post. A thousand posts. Wow. It had crept up on me very quietly. Sneaky. I knew it was coming and had been planning to write something special to celebrate the milestone. Instead, it just tip-toed up to me, tapped me on the shoulder, said “BOO!” and giggled. I had passed 56,000 hits a couple of days before, but that seemed less noteworthy than 1000 posts. I promptly deleted a few posts that were originals I’ve since re-posted. I figure I will do some more deleting too, which messes up the numbers a bit. But it was exactly 1000, so I’m sticking with that.

“Where did you come from,” I asked. “You really snuck up on me. You should wear a bell or something and not surprise a woman like that.”

“Tee hee,” was all the reply I got. A giggle, a tap on the shoulder and a major milestone has gone by.

Today is post number 1001.

About a third of my posts are reblogs and scoops, but even so, I’ve published and written a lot in a short period of time. The past 7 or 8 months has been the most prolific of my life. I think I must have been saving up words all these years. I gotten a lot of positive feedback from other bloggers, but Freshly Pressed apparently doesn’t think I’m particularly interesting. Whatever is they are looking for, I’m not it. I try to not let it bother me because if in a thousand posts they have not found something that makes me worthy, I doubt more will attract them either.

Blogging has been deeply gratifying for me. It has given me my first chance to write and publish without answering to anyone. It’s the first time I’ve gotten any “formal” recognition for writing and it’s the first time I’ve experienced being a part of a community of writers and artists. All of you are wonderful and I am grateful for your friendship and support. Awards are delightful and heartwarming. Although they don’t come with a check attached, nor is there a fancy statuette to display next to my husband’s Emmy on top of the TV, these come with love. Not a statuette, but it makes me feel all toasty. I wish all of you were my real neighbors so I could come sit with you and chat over a cup of coffee. Writing can feel very isolated sometimes, especially in the winter.

Hitting the 1000 post milestone number on the day John awarded this honor to me seemed propitious. And moreover, it’s my 66th birthday tomorrow. Sixty-five was a legal occasion and felt a bit impersonal. Social Security kicked in, Medicaid kicked out. I became officially senior, precipitating fear and trembling since our society does not honor elders. The younger generations would just as soon we went away, taking our experience and our opinions with us. It isn’t personal.

It’s just they want the world for themselves. We stand as reminders of events that are brand new for them but
which we attest have happened before. They are not interested in our history and stories of the old days. They want to inherit what we built, but without us. Alas, but this next generation will have to cope with the painful realization that they did not invent the world nor do they own it. Every generation wants top billing and believes they deserve it — right now. Maybe they do, but like all who have gone before them, they will have to wait their turn.

Statuettes at home – Not mine.

This birthday is personal. I’ve had a year of senior citizenship. I’ve fought my way through the bureaucracy into the next phase of personhood. I realize I am closer to 70 than 60 which is very strange because in my head, I’m still just a kid. I am under no illusion that 66 is the “new 28.” I remember being 28 and this isn’t it. My bones tell the story of the relentless movement of time. My empty bank account is a poignant reminder of my daily struggle to survive. I worry about my friends; the crowd is thinning and the holes left by each star as it winks out is a gap I can’t fill.

The world isn’t such a pretty place as it was when I was young. I feel bad about it and the generations that will inherit such a mess.  I would fix it if I could, but I’m old enough to know I can’t. This is a time for acknowledgment, recognition, understanding limits and liabilities. Coming grips with reality. It’s also the last prime time to taste every possible drop of joy from life because endings no longer seem far away or theoretical.

Today, I have received two awards. I announce having passed my thousandth post, I see myself a year older. I’m glad to be here, grateful for my friends. Thank you, all of you.

Time to give some well-deserved recognition to other worthies in the blogging community. Please note: I am not giving awards to anyone who has directly or indirectly told me that he or she doesn’t want them.

You know who you are. If you have gotten awards from me and never acknowledged them, I take this as a clear message you don’t want more awards. If I’m mistaken, let me know. I’m always happy to share the booty but I also don’t want to make a pest of myself and annoy anyone with stuff they don’t want.

So, without further ado, the envelope please:  

mybeautfulthings

catnipoflife

MikesFilmTalk

jcalberta

Head In A Vice

Emily Guido

Rich Paschall

Rarasaur

Scottie Mom

Rumpy Dog

Hot Rod Cowgirl

The Persecution of Mildred Dunlop

Chronicles of Illusions

Our Humble Opinions

Reflections of a Book Addict

We get to the part that always leaves me a trifle baffled. Seven interesting things about me. My blog tends to be something of a tell-all, so I can’t imagine what more there is to tell about me that everyone hasn’t already heard. So instead, I’m going to post pictures of me that you may or may not have already seen. I know it’s not the usual thing, but really, what more can I say about me? I’m getting tired of talking about myself and I didn’t think that was possible.

Here’s a gallery of me-ness. Looking good, looking weird, looking young, old and drab. It’s the various colors of Marilyn.

2009

Photo: Debbie Stone

Dublin, September 1990

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Categories: #Blogging, #News, #Photography, #Writing, photo, Words

Tags: award, Blog, Medicaid, Social Security, Versatile Blogger Award, Very Inspiring Blogger