IMPORTANT Letter From Elba Announcement. Dear Readers, I will be playing hooky for the next few weeks. My next post will be on Sunday, December 6.
My birthday is this weekend- November 14 to be exact- and I have a three day bash planned. I then plan on heading out of town to get an early jump on the holiday travel crush.
Thus, this is going to be my annual “Thanksgiving” post. (A little early but heart-felt just the same, I can assure you.)
I have been doing the blog now for over three years. And I want to again thank you all for your support. Some of you have been here since the very first post, Love Letter.
Some of you have joined up more recently. But I’m touched and gratified to see how many of you are loyal readers twice every week.
I love the comments and the fan mail. I love your emails and Facebook commentary. You have contributed no end to the success of this thing and I can not thank you enough.
But the one thing I hear over and over again from some of you is “you don’t charge any money to read the blog. What exactly do you get out of it?”
Here’s my answer to all you well-meaning and looking-out-for-my-best-interests friends/readers:
I am so glad you think my efforts here are worth paying for. But the truth is that I do get something out of all this.
Lots of something, in fact.
When I first started this blog, I was shipwrecked. Alone on an uninhabited island of heartbreak, loss and despair.
I felt cut off from all of my old friends and not capable of making the effort to find any new ones.
I was single after a lifetime of being married. My kids had flown the nest and had headed to opposite ends of the country.
Leaving Colorado and moving back here alone felt scary and sad. Chicago was filled with memories. And, ironically, the happier the memory, the more painful it was.
I missed so much about my old life and was at complete loss as to how to forge a new one.
I couldn’t fall back on money or my long-lost looks. All I had was an old lap top.
And I had nothing of value to say.
Robinson Crusoe and Wilson the Volleyball never felt as bereft as I did.
And then one day, I had an idea. I sent out a message in a bottle.
And you guys showed up.
You’ve given me a reason to stay up late two nights a week and a reason to get up in the morning. You’ve given me a shoulder to cry on (I still can’t get over that there were THREE wives at my grandson’s first birthday party) and someone to laugh at my jokes.
You’ve put a smile on my face with your jokes, too.
There have been dinners with old friends and lunches with new ones. I’ve been reunited with long-lost buddies and have had the enormous satisfaction of reuniting other old friends via the Comments Section, as well.
You’ve made me a part of your Thursdays and Sundays.
You are a part of my every day.
A writer’s life is, at heart, a solitary one.
I may be here alone, but thanks to you, I am no longer lonely.
No, I don’t want your money. The truth is I would pay you to let me do what I do.
It’s a joy and a privilege to be read by you all.
Wishing you a very happy, healthy Thanksgiving from the bottom of my rescued heart.
See you on December 6.
Ellen, very touching!
Since you will be off-line for a few weeks, here’s your birthday present, part 1 and part 2 (redux).
Now, I know that you’ve warned me that the majority of your readers are not puzzle people, so they may go directly to this and that. I can guarantee that they will enjoy the writing style.
Have a great birthday bash and a nice break!
Thanks, Doc. And let me add that you are one of the “gifts” that I received from the blog. (Your annoying loyalty to the Mets aside.) I never would have been given the wonderful opportunity to construct these puzzles that you so optimistically link up here if we hadn’t “met” through one of my posts. Thank you for making my life a much more interesting place to be.
Safe travels. Happy birthday and Happy Thanksgiving.
Remember what Wilbur said about Charlotte: “It is not often that someone comes along who is a true friend and a good writer. Charlotte was both.”
Thanks, Charlotte, for the blog. My Sundays and Thursdays are brighter because of it.
Michael. That’s the nicest thing anybody could ever say to me. You are “some mensch.” Thank you for making this so worthwhile. Love to Andi. E. R White
Thank you for the wonderful blogs that I wake up to every Sunday & Thursday ! Although I do not comment often I enjoy them & “take it all in”. It’s allowed me to reunite with my “old” next door neighbor with whom I share many memories! Could never forget your birthday ( I know how many) & those special times with Judy.. Have a fabulous time off !
Thank you, dear neighbor. It’s given me a chance to reunite with our whole block and I loved every minute of it. All three grannies together now. So glad we can share this wonderful time in our lives. Love to Serena. 810 PS. My mother is right. You are perfect!
Far from it!! We’ve been apart 40 (!) years!!!
So glad we did reunite!
Nope, sorry. You’ll always be my Mary Tyler Moore. (With good handwriting.)
I am honored to be alluded to twice in one blog
Hope all fears are overcome by a fabulous new experience
Have a fun filled birthday weekend. Hope by
Sunday nite you will be Samuel Taylor Coleridged
Love ya
Thanks, buddy. As for Sunday night…I hope I end up in Xanadu and not with a dead albatross. Wish me luck!
This is really so warm & wonderful to read! Reading you is such a joy–I’m so glad to be among your fans! Happy Bday!! Safe travels!
Thank you, Jillana. So nice when a Northwestern prof gives me props. And even though you are an Ojibwa friend, it’s so nice to be able to stay connected with fascinating you. Thanks again for the very kind words.
Best wishes for a Happy Birthday.
I cannot compete with your many old friends, who share lifetime memories with you, but I do enjoy the twice weekly travels into your fascinating life experiences. And it has been a treat to get to know through your writing someone who is a dear friend of two of my own, Joan Himmel Freeman and Scott Himmel. Your wonderful writing has encouraged me to continue my own and to hope that one day soon I may publish again.
You are for me like Strunk and White, necessary companions in my writing efforts, and your heartfelt stories of dating and romance, fashion and love found and lost and found again have brought to life for me a new kind of Elements of Style.
Best wishes.
How very nice, Jack. This is a lovely comment- and compliment. I’m so grateful that the blog has brought you into my world. Thanks. And keep up the writing.
Have a lovely, wonderful birthday bash! Glad to have stumbled across your blog. You are a great writer and have a wonderfully wicked sense of humor which just makes that all the more enjoyable!
Oh thank you, Jeannie. I’m so glad you stumbled on it, too. (And not just because of wonderful comments like this.) I have the most discerning and tolerant readers in the world. And the smartest! 😊
Happy birthday! !! Thanks for the memories, insights, and entertainment. Keep it up.
You’re welcome, X-1. I might have to charge you, however. You can pay for the blog in Washington Garden’s lasagna.
I look forward to reading the blog every week and miss it when you take vacations.
As far as your comment about long lost looks, I completely disagree. Like JR said to Sue Ellen, “You’re still the prettiest girl at the ball.”
I hope your birthday is great and hope you have a wonderful visit with your family over Thanksgiving.
Aw shucks, J.R. You say the sweetest things. Love Sue Ellen
Hey Ellen….from one Scorpio to another…have a great birthday and a great Thanksgiving with your family. I will miss your blog, but it always makes me appreciate you more when you get back from your times off.
Thanks, fellow Scorpio. I will miss you too. Have a happy birthday while I’m gone. And don’t cheat on me and read other girls’ blogs while I’m out of town!
I know you deserve time off … but I do feel a void when you are gone.
Enjoy your travels and have a very Happy Birthday.
What a nice thing to say! Thanks, David. I look forward to the holiday- and coming back with lots new grist for the Letter mill. Happy holidays.
Your blog is the book I have been talking about. It’s better than a book because it continues weekly and I look forward to all the chapters.
Hope you have a wonderful birthday and holiday. You are a gift to all of us!!!!
What a great birthday gift, my friend. But then you have the knack of always knowing what to say or do to make a person feel special. Thank you today- and always.
Hi, I came to the computer looking for your blog this morning and alas, it was not there:(:(..I was away on business and missed your post about being away..Yes, I do miss your posts when you are away. You have given me hearty laughter, Ellen..You are hilarious and I love your blog..So, go and have a wonderful birthday and enjoy your family. You are catching up to me!.I will look forward to Dec.6. Best, Diane
Thanks, Diane. Your very kind words are a belated birthday gift. Have a wonderful holiday with your family, and yes, see you on the sixth.