Opining Online

I first met Mary in 1999 on an AOL message board about the Right to Keep and Bear Arms shortly after the Columbine shootings. We never quite agreed; she was for more regulation than I am, though we weren’t that far apart. We emailed and chatted online for years.

Last year, I finally met her in person. We shared a bottle of wine and box of chocolates and laughed most of the night. She talked a lot about her son and daughter, who I know are missing her terribly.

She helped me through some very rough times with my son. She didn’t just commiserate and give me moral support, she came through with concrete ideas and connections that helped put my son back on the right track. I will be forever grateful.

I will miss her insights into human nature and her wonderful sense of humor. She was far too young to die.

If I were a fantastically talented photographer, I’d be posting photos everyday. Usually, I’m disappointed in something about most photos I take - the lighting, the composition, the focus… something.

However, occasionally I find some of my old photos to be more appealing to me now than when I took them. Perhaps since I have forgotten the grand image that was in my mind; one the photo had no chance of living up to, my disappointment is gone.

This is one of them.

You see that button up there? I’m trying Buzzfuze to increase traffic to this blog and to get feedback on my photography. It’s easy to use, just sign up, post, then invite people to rate your work.

There are other services that help drive traffic to blogs, but I like this one because it features photos and music as well as posts. Once I’m established and have a group of regular raters, I might even make some money.