Here We Go a-Gathering, La-la, la-la, la-la

Here We Go a-Gathering, La-la, la-la, la-la

by Marilyn Mackenzie

Like the title?  That's me singing, in case you couldn't figure that out.

I realized something this morning and wanted to write a big THANK YOU to all my Gather friends.

I think I have briefly mentioned that I first joined here because MyPoints.com was giving away 50 or 100 points to do so.  I joined and looked around and then never did anything more.

Since September, 2001, just a week before 9/11 actually, I have been a member of a writer's site.  I still am a member there, a moderator, in fact.  But I don't spend much time there anymore.  Why?  Because one of the members was treated badly.  I can't go into details about that incident (that member should feel free to share or not as she wishes), but it did make me wonder about the community there.  How they could be so uncaring, so hurtful, so ugly.

That member was hurt, and deleted her account and came to Gather.com.  Since I already had a membership here, although not really activated yet, I started visiting here more often than that other site. 

What I found here is phenomenal.  Talk about community.  Talk about caring and sharing and encouraging.  It's here!

Oh, that's not to imply that there are not arguments and fussing going on here.  There are.  But it does seem to be done in a respectful manner.

Sure, there are those folks who flag or give drive-by one ratings.  They are everywhere.  But for the most part, the folks here at Gather are a friendly bunch of folks. 

And what I realized today was, that in spite of the pain and fatigue and everything else I have going on with my constant companion in tow - fibromyalgia - what I have told people for years is true.  When I find a warm and fuzzy atmosphere, when I feel loved, when I get encouragement, I also become more creative.  I write more!

Sitting here on my to-do list are titles for things that I must write:

Road Rage

Road Signs

Be a Tourist

Goody-two-shoes

I also need to write that article about the problem I have with my eyes, some of which is part of my fibro life part is not.

And...I might want to write a story about my son's undiagnosed high-functioning Asperger's Syndrome.  I surely do want to mention that I found out this week that even though he had been an employee at the same place for almost 2 1/2 years, he experienced first-day jitters every day when he went to work.  How sad is that?

You, my Gather friends, have allowed me to reach down under the pain and find some words screaming to be released.

Thanks!

Criticism, like rain, should be gentle enough to nourish a man's growth without destroying his roots. - Frank A. Clark 

We do not believe in ourselves until someone reveals that what's deep inside us is valuable, worth listening to, worthy of our trust, sacred to our touch. Once we believe in ourselves we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight or any experience that reveals the human spirit. - E.E. Cummings

We do not correct a piece of writing; in doing so, we question a life. William Stafford

The most satisfying thing in life is to have been able to give a large part of one's self to others. -Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

We cannot hold a torch to light another's path without brightening our own. -Ben Sweetland

It is one of the most beautiful compensations of life, that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself. -Ralph Waldo Emerson

Never believe that a few caring people can't change the world. For, indeed, that's all who ever have. -Margaret Mead

Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great. -Mark Twain

Use what talent you possess: the woods would be very silent if no birds sang except those that sang best. -Henry Van Dyke

 

I was only here at Gather.com for a short while when I wrote this poem.  That was before I had many connections.  Still, I realized even then what a friendly place it was.  This poem is a bit sad since it has not had many visitors.  Stop by and say howdy, okay?  

Once Upon a Friendship  

Now...if Mr. Fibro Fog will just allow me to remember what is supposed to go with those titles...