DD -- is the link live for you? It's not for me. I've gone to Bog Now/Manage/MyEntries/ Edit ten times or more now, and it still shows up, for me, as a dead link.
This blog cost me -- although it was a price I willingly paid -- to confess that the interest in my life was "then" as compared to "now." For it to be a wasted efffort - in the sense that no one can read what I have linked to -- would be a discouragement.
So let me know, if you will.

I get a 'link' and copy and paste it on word. Then I copy it off of word and paste it on the blog now thingy.

Try that.

There are nice tech ways of doing it but on comments I get to just 'link' it:

Any rate, this is it:

http://wendystaebler.posterous.com/

Ma'am, you need to click the chain like icon at the top of the blog now editor. First copy the link, click on that icon, and paste it into the pop up window.

Then it will be a live link, but Dickons works fine.

=D

Ack!

That's a very good article about the blues, wwstaebler, with lots of info that I didn't know, and a real appreciation for what makes the blues universal.

And now it's time for Billie and Prez!

At about 2:21 in this video, Billie Holiday looks at Lester Young with all the love in the world!

Hardly the Mad Woman, wendy staebler. Rather a dislocated woman suffering life-changing catastrophe. You showed us what it can be like to be so traumatized, and we all hope that writing it will help your healing. The blues were made for this, but first some Annie Lennox.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6r5oCu7JRR8&feature=related

Then, some of your favorite Bonnie Raitt:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_FcAg4ObRQ&feature=related

I love you, ww, my soul sistah.

It seems I forgot the most obvious one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TqBzW5xoEg4

Oh, the frustration of time stamps. Thanks, Wendy, for the connect the dots from Billie Holiday to my man:
http://www.lyricsfreak.com/b/billie+holiday/por:my+man_20017796.html

Wendy, far from the "Mad Woman of Chaillot," your writing is that of an unrelentingly sane mind. The fact that your words operate on multiple levels, multiple axes and in four-part harmony is no small feat for a writer, let alone such a dear human being. I wonder if I may be of some assistance in your present situation? Not to suggest you have ever relied on the kindness of strangers, as one fallen belle of the South is said to have done.

Rather, your response to tragedy and loss has been more akin to Scarlet O'Hara's: You won't go down without a fight. You're a survivor with a journalist's conscience for relating the facts and a poet's ability to relate human experience from the inside out.

If lifeline is to be thrown, let us make it go far and fast.

Still --let me not become sidetracked: what will you, and you, and you contribute to our Cafe?

You know, I REALLY DO LIKE YOU YOU KNOW. hhahahaha

What do I have to offer the Cafe? I honestly don't know, Wendy. Truly. And the question saddens me.

Once upon a time I offered a tiny spot on a nightly basis - a little bit of silence to offset the screaming outside. A chance, I hoped, for folks to speak freely about their thoughts and feelings without worry. A simple opportunity to breathe. After a while it became what I'd hoped - a gathering for a nightly respite.

I'm not sure what eventually changed, I believe it to be a multitude of things. I stopped writing every night as interest waned (mine included)... life just got in the way of all of us, I suppose. I miss those days. Cheap Zin, a filthy frig that required goggles and Still to clean, soft lights and wonderful music. Real conversation. But they cannot be reclaimed - we've tried.

So now? Who knows. I post and comment now and again. I still seek this site and look for words to uplift, advise and sustain me. I find posts such as yours and feel gratified. Yet it is not as yesterday was ... and never again will be.

So the future greets us with its usual uncertainty, Wendy. In the grand scheme of things that's really not a bad thing. Will I be here in this small piece of cyberspace tomorrow? Quite likely. Perhaps not. Will it matter? No. But what does matter to me is that I learned that your name is not just wwstaebler. It is Wendy. Your heart is as strong as a horse named Everest and your love is as deep as your Charleston roots.

But I was sooooooooooo very lost Missy. I would visit you when I first got here.

I could not remove the noise from my head.

There is much noise you know. When there is too much info out there. How does one find order?

Ha!!!

Tonight Q, who usually has all of our wisdom hidden in some sacrosanct vase of old hits me with some truth.

Remember when Q said: CANNOT YOU JUST TAKE FIVE MINUTES TO WISH YOUR BROTHER WELL.....

Ha...I recall you knew the import of all this.

And tonight he gave me this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILJxICUIbCY

And it was clear to me anyway. This story by Wendy is a...well it is something new....

Missy I adore you...hahhaahah!!!

Oh shite...Blanchet is my goddess...No kidding.

I am so taken by her. Out of ....ex nihilo is the only way to describe her.

Son of gun. You were there. You saw miracles. damn!!!

Thank you for this piece of a...history?

I was just speaking with Missy. This all fits in.

You know, most of the time, nothing seems to fit!!!

Missy, you've echoed my sentiments. I used to write a lot and read a lot and comment a lot. My circumstances have changed and my interest in politics has waned, at least for now. But I'm still reading when I can, commenting when I want, and (very occasionally) writing when the urge strikes.

Hey Wendy, have I told you lately that I love you also?
Ha!!!

dickday is the knight in shining armor who saved Scarlet Charleston from dead-link despair. And he will yet save TPM from daily drudgery.
TPMers do not give up! dd is looking out for you. Now I'm headed for an Ivan experience. Have a great day.

Wow, Carey -- you have elevated my story to allegory. Thank you so much (wish I'd thought of that) ;-)
When, Sir, shall we at the Cafe expect an excerpt, or a link, to your newest work in progress?

Uh...no, not really. ;-)

M -- Your porch light and living room are sorely missed. The blue chair, the neon fridge, your friends gathering to share music, conversation and, most of all just the pleasure of being together. Your contribution to the Cafe, by creating that oasis alone, can never be quantified. You soothed the savage beast, bringing out the best in people. Which is not to overlook what you've written as blogs.... More please, M, when you are so moved.

Er, the link was OK, it just had an extra http:// at the beginning, which annoyingly is what is in the pop up window, you need to paste over it so the link reads as:

http://wendystaebler.posterous.com

not

http://http://wendystaebler.posterous.com

I'm so sorry I didn't explain well, and that I am being tiresome about it because I am hoping that I see a lot more blogs from you with that link in them. I have enjoyed everything I have read, and I hope publishers take note! I am an avid reader, and you are better then a lot of stuff that IS published. You remind me just a bit of Margaret Atwood. I just finished one of hers, Bodily Harm, so maybe that is why. But, you both have a gift for creating interest from the get go, like Anne Tyler, although her method is a bit different, the results are the same. Capitvation.

=D

To make things eaven *easier* you can update your prfile page with your posterous url: Ta Da!

{as in http://[email protected] hint, hint, clue, clue ;-) }

Anna -- I'll look forward to continuing a discussion when you get back. Have a relaxing weekend.

Thanks for your patience, Bwak -- do I finally have the link right?

And thank you (thank you, thank you) for your comparison of my writing to authors I really admire. I'm abashed, but smiling ear to ear, just the same. ;-)

hum

it is not ok now, how odd, the link Dickon posted is fine, and it appears to be the same you posted.

O.K. I am stumped. Maybe a real techie can help. I fail. I am sorrrrrrrrrrrry.

Last try -- The clock may well run out on this blog before I get the link right. Hope I managed it this time (by substituting the dot for the ampersand.)

Change the @ sign to a period.

That's all that's missing now.

(Nice drawing though Bwak. Great way to solve these problems.)

Good point, WW. When it comes to politics in theory and practice, we have our differences, and it has posed an unpassable barrier in the community.

A return to the more friendly meadows of creativity is a good prescription.

Zipperus -- I am always interested in whatever you have to say. You are so wise for one your age or, for that matter, any age. I learn something from every single one of your comments, and I know there are many people here who hope you will post blogs of your own more frequently than you have. Do you have any fiction you'd like to share?

Sorry, Quinn -- missed this direct approach to problem solving, for which I thank you, though belatedly.

Beautiful cat, ww. Looks great as a thumbnail on my tiny laptop screen. Did you paint it or did someone else?

Thanks Bwak. Lots of music this past while - Ghost songs yesterday. Today's just got an old poem up as lead. Music's just after that. Here.

I think many of us are tired of the fighting...or at least that is why I haven't been here much.

When my daughter was an obnoxious teenager I used to tell her she could start a fight in an empty bar, and that is how it feels around here sometimes.

Leaving completely is not an option for me, at least not as long as "my friends" are still around. I suppose if y'all were to leave I would re-evaluate. For now, reading, and avoiding the fray suit me. I suppose my fighting spirit may return, and really I hope it does. My family enjoys the cooking and cleaning, but me? Not so much...

I haven't read your pieces yet, Wendy. I'll do that tonight, and am really looking forward to them.

Missy, I miss our nightly glass of wine more than you will ever know!

Wendy, the thought of Miss Manners going to the retirement home appalls me, but if she doesn't suit the you of "now," she needs to go. I'll be interested to see what you think captures the spirit of today's Wendy.

Flower, you absolutely crack me up! "I ain't so much" just hit my funny bone!

I'm off to a much needed afternoon of r and r with my daughter...see y'all later (whether you see me or not!)

Incredible and heart wrenching poem, Quinn.

(hug)

Thanks for sharing. I gotcha bookmarked.

Thanks, eh?

Somehow, I got the impression that Ms. Staebler had already tried to find a publisher and had been unsuccessful. If this is not the case, then I agree with you and also say NO! to self-publishing. All other avenues should be exhausted before going the self-publishing route.

There has to be a publisher out there somewhere that knows a good thing when they see it. I mean, for cryin' out loud, if Palin can get that pile of crap piece of fiction she calls her life published, Wendy S. can certainly get her high quality story on the market and she wouldn't have to have the RNC buy copies to artificially boost sale numbers, either.

I think you read ww's (pre-emptive) self-criticism as failure to find a publisher. So thank you (and I really mean that) for adding your voice to encourage her to look for a publisher. I jumped in before she could consider the route of selling herself short. ;-)

Like you, flower, I want to read more.

Ack!!! That's the spirit...

=D

I did not paint it, Gasket, but wish I had -- in "person," this painted cat has enough vitality and personality to leap off the canvas and into your lap.

Btw, thanks for the heads up about the copyright notice on Posterous. Both Truffaux and Hurricaned are copyrighted, but if you think a blanket notice on the page, one that would cover anything I post there, that is probably a really good idea.

How is Spring coming along where you are?

Glad you guys could drop by for a read. That one was the first poem I ever wrote. 28. Just returned home after a lonnnng time on the road. Stood in the middle of the farmyard, dropped army bag full of stuff at my feet, and scribbled this - madly - on a little pad of paper. My family kept telling me to come in, I kept shaking my head "no," they took my stuff in, and I stood there, writing and writing and writing,page after page. If you'd told me I would ever write a poem before that, I would have howled laughing. I think it was just the power of returning home, being hit by the sights, but also the smells..... ;-) And all our dogs being gone.

Flower:
In answer to your question, Truffaux is a play on words, combining "cheat" or truffo" in Italian with" fake" or "faux" in French. There is a reason for that that will be revealed .... but I will say no more until I post the next few chapters.
As to publishing, I have a specific editor at a specific publisher in mind; if that placement fails, then I will try others; if they fail, then we'll see.
For the record, Flower, I LOVE your stories, not only for their content but also for the way you write them. You tell such a satisfying tale, time after time, somehow knowing what to say that is just enough, without leaving anything out that matters, but not too much, as is so often my bad habit. So I think you should be thinking about finding an editor, agent, publisher yourself. Really.

Thank you, Quinn. For posting this beautiful poem, here, as well as there. I love Newfies -- lion-hearted, gentle friends who are, yes, very much like bears. The village where I lived in PEI had four who roamed on rounds, house to house, who went with us, of course, when we swam.I cannot imagine having had one of my own -- then gone.

Quinn -- thank you for Annie singing "Dark."
If ever there was a cat matched to a person, it is my cat, Hermione, who should have been named Annie. A vocal cat, always communicating what is essential, caring enough to overcome the deafness of others to be heard, because she has something to say, as Annie does:
http://picasaweb.google.com/118234833260738860081/AnnieLennoxAsCat#

Stilli -- if I were choosing an avatar to represent my best self, I would pick an image of Helen Mirren. If I were focusing on my never-say-die determined, defiant self, it would be Annie Lennox.
But Ms. Manners must go. She has been a part of my life for almost thirty years, and I love her, because she resemble my aunt more than my mother, but she represents, much more, what my mother genuinely was, albeit in a different time, in different circumstances. I have come to the conclusion that there is no longer any positive purpose served in clinging to what was, though I honor those, like my mother, who epitomized it.
"When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things....Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity."

Thanks, ww. You are extremely generous. As it turns out, I am soon going to revive my blog, which you can find here:

http://readytoblowagasket.blogspot.com/

I like ospreys, but I don't think that's the bird you mean. Some ospreys wear eye masks, like bandits. I've seen only one in the wild, recognizable by its blindingly white chest and belly. It was beautiful and majestic. I waited for it to fly from its dead-tree perch, but it outwaited me.

Que pasa, Sleepin'? To what do you refer?

*poke*

Now this is the best one you've done yet, Bwak. I like the "full metal jacket" of this pitchfork -- its depth and reflection -- against it, the delicacy of the lunar moth is sublime! (OK, I know it's greedy, but any chance I could have that full metal jacket pitchfork behind my siky initials to get a similar contrast? Or is it way too much trouble to separate the images and repaste? )
Feel free, btw, to say -- shame, WWS -- never look a gift fork in the mouth.....

Ahhh -- perfect! Thank you so much, Bwak. This was a great kindness -- in truth, one among so many. Please let me know how I may repay you. Here is your voucher:

_______________________________
| |
| I OWE YOU BWAK |
| (what you need, whenever |
| -- wws |
|______________________________|

I just may enter my short story. The name is "Louisa Ferncliff." Stay tuned.

OMG! I am beyond tired, and want to come back and read all the comments I rushed through above. Give me a senior discount, guys, okay? This is a wonderful thread!