Hey friend,

No apologies necessary... I've been such an absentee, and then I pop up "far down the page" on your blog... my bad!

So, I get it (re: poetry) up to a point; but are you musing and "echando los versos del alma" anywhere else? Perhaps somewhere you're being better rewarded?

I was going to say that--for me--just writing and publishing is it's own reward; but with my assets painfully depressed these days, I may be "coming out of retirement" and scratching the gravel to find some revenue somewhere! Trying not to panic, and praying the LORD restores my fortunes, at least enough that I don't worry about depleting them prematurely... :O

I've abandoned Steemit (other than for it's historic value), no longer posting there. I was quite active on Whaleshares for some time, but the guv'mnt response to covid threw all kinds of old Dutch wooden shoes into my machinery, and I wound up hanging out on Fakebook too much of the time, trying to talk some sense into old friends who had been swept up in the scamdemic hubbub...

But my need to write is now driving me again, and I'm coming up for air from a couple of huge and hugely necessary projects (which I also hope to write about here one of these days). I have a massive backlog of things I want to write...

I love Hive, and now consider it my primary outlet for my writing of all kinds, largely because of my perception that it is of archival value. And yes, I still have many friends here who are likely to remember me; some already actively supporting my efforts again, which is gratifying. However I still feel a need to "find my audience," and still feel that Hive and platforms like it attract far more writers than readers... Maybe I'll eventually be forced to learn how to market myself? :D

One thing scares me because I don't trust it; sometimes I'll pull up an old article or story or poem to pass along to a friend because our conversation triggered a memory. What scares me is that, more often than not, what I wrote "back then" seems better than I remember. I can't tell if my judgement is just shot, or not... and if it isn't, the terrifying thing is wondering (could I have been that good?) if I can still produce work of comparable quality... -deep sigh-

OK, there I've gone and poured out a bit of my soul to you, John... But better to a friend than a stranger. Thanks for replying, always good to "hear" your voice.

Oh, and before I leave, I have to toss out the threat once again that (if our wanderings bring us back within spitting distance one of these days) I still imagine finding my way to your neighborhood and sitting down for dinner or a few beers with you... And of course, I would love to meet @countrygirl face to face as well. :)

Blessings, Brother!