I had trouble writing in high school. In college I was popular because of my vintage portable electric typewriter, the original Smith-Corona 1957. I wrote my paper first then the other gals stood in line. And I bought the ribbons!
During college I wrote talent agents and entertainers, read riders et al. Then I worked for government and analyzed legislation. After that, I wrote mission and vision statements and materials for non-profit organizations and wrote bylaws for non-profits where I was a Trustee.
In 2008 my husband said I needed to write. While on Thanksgiving vacation at his family’s home he created an account for me. It is not a traditional account because he’s a software genius but WordPress is my host.
You gave me the courage to speak from my heart and write 500 words in 15 minutes that would have taken days years ago on my Smith-Corona. I’ve traveled the country and bring my heaviest “laptop” ever that now goes for $6 on eBay! My aunt gave it to me, she bought it new, for my high school graduation.
I’d like to think my thoughts are more important than the pencil I used to convey those thoughts. 84,000 hits, not bad for a niche blog. I will not monetize my site nor will I keep from telling readers what I think that day. It could be that no-one stops at the crosswalk I had painted after contentious buy-in from both city and county, or my version of Lady Bird Johnson’s 1962 Pedernales River Chili that she served JFK and 5,000 guests at the Ranch.
Sworn to 1.000 posts I’m shy of 3,000 to retire. Yes, readers and followers are my buddies and friends. I’ve never met PDXKnitterati but we’ve been friends since our first week when we were named “best.” I wrote about how to eat a Concord grape, that is still my most famous post. She knitted me a hat and introduced me to a singer, Juni Fisher. I hired Juni for a gig for Nanny’s 82nd birthday and she signed two CD’s to PDX. Juni has stayed with us many times since then and I’ve never met PDX.
Thank you for bringing new friends into my life through writing. Dee
Cooking with Dee 
To PDX, this is for you. Hope the family is doing well. We would not have met without WordPress. Oh, the kids. growing and learning every day. Driving you up a tree above your flowers! Cheers to you and the family. Dee
As for the pencil, I’ve found a place in the checkerboard states to refurbish my original “computer” so I might send the heaviest laptop in the world out and get it back good as new with new ribbons in case I wish to use it to write where the NSA is not watching every move. Don’t worry, it’s just a collection of stories. Many of them you’ve seen here over the past eight years. They’ll just be collected, added to, and indexed. How, I cannot tell you.
If there was a murder mystery and my old Smith-Corona was subject to DNA analysis I’ve not used it for years, and so many dorm members used this machine so it would be all over the place. Yes, I watch some cop shows.