My friend Jens asked me to share my favorite post with him. It is a good question and one that has stumped me. I am not sure what that post is. It is a bit like asking me to pick a favorite child.
Some of it depends on my mood. I have been listening to Moshav sing Come Back on and off for two days now. Been battling that feeling of wanderlust for the same few days and remembering what once was and thinking about what might yet be.
Is my favorite There Are Places I Remember. It is a piece of fiction I wrote a while back that for a while just kind of stuck with me. Don’t know what I liked about it, but for a bit it held my attention.
It didn’t grab me with the same force that An Uncertain Certainty did, not by a long shot. That post shook me to my core and woke up skeletons that had been sleeping. Can’t tell you what made me think of it or why.
I don’t always look for reasons why I write a particular post or need to know why the prose I push out appears. I just need to write it. But is that my favorite? Well, I don’t know.
Hell when I look at posts like Stupid Blog Tricks- The Difference Between The Best & Most Popular I see links to many of my favorites. That is not particularly helpful for Jens or anyone who wants me to pick a single post, but it is an easy way for me to give a vague answer.
Some of you who know me are probably smiling because you think that is one of my patented vague answers. Hell, I made a career out of driving The Shmata Queen crazy by not giving a detailed answer but the truth is that I haven’t tried to do that here.
I am just not sure what to choose. Maybe it is because I have so many posts to choose from. Maybe it is similar to going to a restaurant that has an enormous menu, like Jerry’s Deli or The Cheesecake Factory. If you don’t have a particular hankering for one kind of food you can go meshugah flipping pages trying to decide whether you want a salad/sandwich/steak/pasta etc.
If the big lug in that photo was still around I would ask him for help and he’d answer. Man, that dog knew all of my secrets and then some. There was never a day in his life where he wasn’t happy to see me. Talk about unconditional love.
I remember just before he died I wrapped my arms around that massive head and told him that I loved him. I told him that I was going to miss him terribly and that I thought it was really unfair that we could live the rest of our lives together. It really didn’t seem fair and still doesn’t.
He was 125 pounds of love and laughter. If he decided to stand on his hind legs he could reach most things on the kitchen counter. Barely had to stretch to snatch food off of the table and he was sneaky too.
But when the end came I told him it was ok to let go. Told him to go find out what waits on the other side of the veil and asked him to come find me whenever my time comes. I swear he nodded his head at me, watched his tail wag and then he closed his eyes….
He is running somewhere. I close my eyes and I am running with him. He runs just ahead of me and turns his head, he is taunting me, the damn dog is taunting me. I am 25 and I can still run like I did when I was 18.
I am much faster than people expect. Not a rocket, but for a guy my size I can really move. Got a really fast first step and fast hands.
Always good on the court. When I have the ball I try to con the man guarding me into reaching for the ball. My hands are too strong for him to strip me and if he gets that close I can use that first step to blow by and get to the basket.
Don’t know why I expect to be able to use that trick with the big lug or why I am thinking about it. Just know that there is joy in running with him. The sun is in the center of a bright blue sky and we are moving.
And then sunset approaches and we know that in a short time that full moon we love will appear.
We’re back in the present and I am still trying to figure out how to answer Jens’ question about a favorite post. I probably should do what I tell my kids to do and break the question down into smaller bite size pieces.
Probably should try to base it upon categories. I am a dad blogger who writes about family, business, technology, social media and fiction.
I am a writer who blogs. I am just a man tapping keys on a keyboard who hopes that they make sense. Hell, I don’t know what my favorite is.
What is your favorite?
At the risk of sound “unmanly”, I think I’m going to cry.
Your friend sounds awesome and I think you were both blessed to have each others companionship – for a little while.
Thank you Hook, I have to agree. We were both quite lucky.
I was asked to do the 7 links challenge quite a few times and I have done it once. It was tough. I kept telling them it is like choosing between my babies! Though I don’t have kids, I always have trouble answering my nephew and niece when they come up with the question “Aunt, you have to pick one of us as your best one”… the answer always is “Who wants to go out for ice cream?”
I have been asked to do the 7 links again and though I love the appreciation coming in, I figure I can’t go through the pressure again! It is just too much 🙂
I like whatever I write! At least, whatever I have published!
Hey Hajra,
I think it is cool that you like what you write because I am usually the opposite. I look at my writing and cringe.
You definitely give your niece and nephews the right answer- ice cream is the way to go. 😉
Hi Jack,
I have been thinking about my question, and I’m glad that nobody asked it to me. Well, I have been asked to participate in the 7 link challenge, but so far, I haven’t. I understand how hard it can be to pick one favorite. To me, it might have been a post with lots of interesting comments, because a post like that might be special, because you got lots of feedback. Or it might be something related to your emotions at the time you wrote it, or the way you wrote it, or where you wrote it.
I can’t find one favorite among your posts yet. There are just too many good ones. But, I really enjoy the ones where you write like you’re Jack Reacher from the novels by Lee Child. I like the image, and when you combine fiction with your personal experiences, that’s when I keep reading over and over again.
Hi Jens,
I like the question because it makes me think about my writing and I find value in that.
I see it as another way to try and improve my writing.
Almost all of my fiction is intermixed with things that have happened.
I don’t know what made me decide to do that, but I enjoy blurring the lines and making people wonder what is real and what isn’t.
It is funny, I really like science fiction and fantasy- those are some of my favorite stories to read.
Yet I rarely try to write anything in those genres, not sure why.
I am still looking forward to reading about your serial killer.