Wherein My Personal Blogosphere Expands Via a Fun Exchange With a Super New Acquaintance

blogging, humor, Inspirational People 3 Minutes

I’ve often said that I’m one happy blogger: I love to write and to research new topics; I’m grateful for your feedback; and—this was one aspect of blogging that I hadn’t anticipated but is becoming one of the most valuable—I feel personally enriched by meeting so many extraordinary, talented people from all over the world.

The most recent is Judy Dykstra-Brown, a poet, writer, artist, and lecturer who blogs at Life Lessons. She’s a prolific blogger, posting something—sometimes several things—every day. That energy alone boggles my once-or-at-most-twice-weekly blogger mind!

My virtual meeting with Judy occurred in a manner that frequently happens among bloggers. As about 30% of my subscribers aren’t bloggers, I hope you WP folks will bear with me while I explain this process—very briefly.

Judy clicked on “like” concerning a comment I’d made on someone else’s blog. That triggered a WP email informing me of her action and citing some of her posts that I might find of interest. Intrigued, I visited her site. 

It’s a treasure trove, as you can imagine from the versatility I note above. I immediately knew I wanted to see more, so I clicked on “follow” and became one of her more than 5000 subscribers.

I was drawn to a funny little poem she’d written, which—as is often the case—fueled my own creativity. I responded in verse, and Judy then began to follow me. She also graciously reblogged one of my posts, a poem I’d titled “Chaos in America…BUT…We Can End It!” 

(An aside: The poem was written as a near-acrostic, in which the first letter of each line, viewed vertically, clearly spelled out the title. However, that little attempt at cleverness required indenting parts of the longer lines—formatting that apparently became lost when I had system problems and my WP advisors told me I needed a new menu. I didn’t realize the impact of the change until I saw the post again, lines now awry, with Judy’s reblog. The fix involves html, which is not my native language…so it may not happen soon. If you choose to read the poem, please note the bolded first letters.) 

Anyway, we had such fun with our first meeting that I thought I’d share with you Judy’s poem, my verse response, and our subsequent exchange.

Judy’s poem:

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Image courtesy of flickr.com

Piscine Phobia

I don’t eat salmon, don’t eat flounder.
I prefer my protein rounder—
chicken, roasts or food like that.
Fish is too fishy and too flat.

Tuna mixed with soup and noodle
I despise kit and caboodle!
Nothing could persuade me that
I should eat food fit for a cat.

I won’t eat food grown in a swamp,
so crabs and clams I never chomp.
No protein caught by motor boat
will ever pass my teeth and throat.

When dinner parties serve up chowder
I’m likely to just take a powder.
I simply can’t take the suspense
of what fish lurks in soup so dense.

So if you want to plan a treat
that I will find the nerve to eat,
once again, I must repeat,
forget the lobster. Give me meat!

And my comment:

“Give me meat,” the woman pleads,
But I must turn aside:
A bloody steak, a fatty slab
Will make my gorge uprise.

“No mammals” is my credo;
I find it tough enough
To eat a little Nemo
From seas serene or rough.

I used to love my bacon,
But now a baby pig
Reminds me I’m more comfortable
Just chewing on a fig.

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Image courtesy of needpix.com.

Judy’s response:

Touche!!! Ha. It takes all kinds of us in this world, right?

And mine:

It does indeed. And if we could all accept and embrace our differences with good humor, what a lovely world it could be!

————————

When I asked Judy if she was OK with my printing the above on my blog, she said, “Of course, you are most welcome to…It was a fun interchange. I predict future ones as well.”

I’ve written about inspirational people. After reading Judy’s bio. on her blog and information about the books she’s written, I’ve concluded that she’s clearly one of them. 

So with regard to future fun interchanges, the pleasure will certainly be mine!

Annie

Published by annieasksyou

I've been a nonfiction writer for many years, exploring diverse topics that pique my curiosity, as noted in my first blog posting (Greetings!). I'm seeking dialogue with others committed to joining me in this exploration, sharing my conviction that different views can be exchanged in a respectful, civil discourse where we can learn from one another and be agreeable, even when we disagree. These postings depend for their enrichment on your participation: your ideas, insights, knowledge, opinions, and personal stories.

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40 thoughts on “Wherein My Personal Blogosphere Expands Via a Fun Exchange With a Super New Acquaintance”

    1. But it’s amazing to me how quickly we develop bonds and really care about people we’ve never met and probably never will. That’s something special that I couldn’t have anticipated. Thanks for commenting, Neil. You take care too.

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  6. I like both of these poems a lot! I must admit that I’ll eat almost anything that I’m not allergic to (except beets, and oatmeal unless I’m very hungry and nothing else is available), and I’m no poet! Thanks to both of you!

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    1. Thanks so much, George. Oatmeal is one of the mainstays of our diet. Fortunately, we like Irish oatmeal that we order online, as regular old oatmeal is now as rare as hand sanitizer and toilet paper. Take good care.

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  7. Good grief, can’t we agree on anything? Judy’s poem tickled both my funny bone and my taste buds.

    Beef steaks are red
    Gas flames are blue
    If per chance there are leftovers
    Thank goodness for stew!

    Liked by 4 people

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  8. A “bloody steak,” I do not dig,
    And I don’t give a fig for a fig.
    But prepare a salmon for my plate,
    And my mouth waters while I wait.
    The same thing goes for cod or trout —
    Fish-y food is what it’s all about.

    Liked by 4 people

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    1. I do love salmon; there’s no doubt;
      ‘Tis a food choice I can rave about.
      In fact, to ensure a continuous supply,
      We just signed up for an Alaska buy.
      With our local source caught in corona fret,
      We’ll get our wild fix through the Internet.

      Liked by 3 people

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  9. I’m old fashioned
    When it comes to food
    So I hope I’m
    Not being rude.

    When I say
    At least for me
    Major food groups
    Number three

    Take your lobster
    Eat your steak
    Sample veggies
    But don’t eat cake

    My food triangle
    Has three parts
    Keep it simple
    It’s an art

    Begin with chocolate
    Have no fear
    Add some chips
    Finish up with beer.

    Liked by 4 people

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  10. I have a veggie friend who claims she would never eat anything with a face or a mother . . . but now that we know so much more about plants (like trees! and how they communicate with each other, care for each other, warn each other . . . ) what are we supposed to eat?

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  11. An unusual Isle I inhabit,
    We eat trout and moose and rabbit,
    Seafood is our native game,
    and we love to eat the same.

    When I was a child my mom prepared
    things many others would find weird.
    Seabirds, scallops, mussels, too,
    Flipper pie and fresh fish stew.

    I love animals and abhor their harm,
    So we avoid the factory farm,
    But family and culture encourage wild game,
    And my tastebuds often crave the same.

    We hunt and fish here, as we have for years,
    To feed our families through toil and tears,
    Trophy hunting we do despise,
    But a humanely-caught meal is considered wise.

    Liked by 4 people

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  13. I agree.. I don’t eat babies: bunnies, veal, ducklings ( or ducks.) It would seem that we ended up even, Annie.. and that I did find the poems you mentioned. I don’t know why I hadn’t seen them before when I first read your blog. Thanks so much for pointing out this fun comment string..and for showing me some new blogs to read.

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