“Jon, congrats on writing the perfect response to a snarky reader! I can provide a counterbalance to what she said. I live in Sarasota, FL. At midnight on Oct. 10, I briefly stood in my driveway in the eye of Hurricane Milton. After the eye passed, all hell broke loose. Winds up to 165 mph. My city has been decimated. I went eight days without power and just got it back yesterday. Once I got online, one of the first things I opened in my Inbox was your blog. Never had I been so happy to see Maria’s manure throw, you scratching Zip’s ear, and Fate ‘chasing the sheep.’ Unfortunately, I missed the tampon story. The blog reassured me that although my life had taken a turn for the worse, life, joy, love, and daily routine were still happening in another part of the world. Your blog showed the normal events in a happier place. It comforted me and gave me hope. When your world has been turned upside down, nothing is more beautiful than pictures of a routine, ordinary day on Bedlam Farm.”
– Susan Nachand
Susan, your message means so much to Maria and me. This has always been my dream for the blog—a safe and meaningful place for people to live in a turbulent world. It just took me a long time to get there. I thank you for your faith in me and wish you healing and hope.
You have the capacity for both. Thanks; you got some tears rolling here. A message like this makes it all worthwhile and more. Your attitude is a model for us; it’s nothing less than heroic. There will always be trolls and snarks, but very few Susan Nachands.
Your message is going up on my office wall—every blessing to you.
___
The Snarky Message
Tyea: Too bad Lieca Lives. I was hoping it was the end of the boring blog….Beautiful morning, manure throw, and the Cambridge food (and tampons, diapers, and wipes) pantry… repetitive and badly needs new content to stay viable.
_______
My reply to the Snarky Message (they used to call it cruel): The tampon reference is to my work on the blog to fill the women’s hygiene shelves at the local food pantry with tampons and pads. We’ve been successful. This is upsetting to Tyea.
“Tyea, thanks for your loyalty to my blog. Good morning to you, too. A friend who works at a big tech company told me that messengers like yours are the most loyal ones blog readers could have, and here you are, telling me I need new content (and hope my camera dies) but are still following me closely every day. How else could you know how awful I am? I guess hatred needs fuel. This gave me a new way of looking at online cruelty. You sure don’t seem bored to me. jon”
my wishes for strength to Susan in Sarasota and her family. Amidst her losses, she perseveres with a positive attitude, I am in awe of her and wish her well.
Susan M
I’m also in awe of Susan. Even losing power is dangerous for those needing to refrigerate medicine. It’s also hard on the elderly to survive without air conditioning. In my area, someone filled their RV with donated essentials such as diapers, toothpaste and yes tampons and drove to one of the areas hit by the storms. These people need all kinds of help. Many who lost their homes don’t have home insurance because the rates are sky high in many parts of our country. Imagine losing your home, maybe your livelihood (businesses were hit hard too), most likely your vehicle an absolutely every personal possession you have collected through the years. I’m glad there are people like Taylor Swift and Dolly Parton who are donating large sums of money to help the storm and flood victims. My heart bleeds for the victims of climate change. And I’m sure those who utilize food pantries are delighted to have free access to feminine hygiene products They are expensive.
My heart goes out to Susan, who, in spite of the horror she’s living through, can still find the joy. She knows that focusing on the good in this world is how we get through the bad. The trolls of the world are hurt people who hurt people. They have only one arrow in their quiver to deal with their pain, and that is to project it on to others. I was (and still can be) one of them. When I forget to use my vast array of tools to deal with my pain, my wounded inner child/teenager leaks out. That’s helpful because it points to where I need more healing, but I have hurt people when that happens, and adult me just doesn’t want to do that any more.