"What have you learned, Dorothy?"

This month:

I've learned that this blogging thing can be very addicting. I've learned when I don't have Internet access to posting, I get quite verklempt.

I've learned that creating an outline of what I want to address on specific dates is a double-edged sword. I can have a piece done two weeks early for one date (but inevitably, I always tweak it one more time), or I can have nothing planned for the next day and hope for divine inspiration. I KNOW (I believe) what I'm going to write about for 7 of the 8 days between June 14 and June 21, and also July 10, August 10, and August 28, but not for June 3.

I've learned that I can prepare something for a date, then bump it for something that's more urgent, or intriguing, or whimsical. (I've bumped one completed piece thrice, another twice.)

I've learned that a kernel of an idea can lead to a (less than satisfying) one paragraph, or it can surprise me by expanding into directions I didn't expect. (The May 20 Gilmore Girls was one of the latter - that piece, BTW, bumped a completed piece.)

I've learned that I don't know what it means when one sister writes about my blog, "INTERESTING" in 24-point type.

I've learned that my story on Lydia's name (May 22) was probably the most popular piece of the month. It hit some sort of universal nerve. Lydia, BTW, is all well now (May 7).

I've learned that there are actually people who want to read about the JEOPARDY! and FantaCo stories. One must accede to the public in these matters.

I've learned that Comic Book Galaxy has a link to my blog.

I've learned that when someone tells me that Greenland is part of Europe, I have to check to prove that, in fact, Greenland is part of North America, it is, it is, just as I thought. (Actually, I've known for a long time that I have the "need to know" -it's a librarian disease.)

I've learned that the new Stevie Wonder CD (May 13 entry) is apparently delayed until this month, but that my wife will get it for me for our anniversary when it comes out.

(And speaking of my wife's and my anniversary, I wrote in my May 15 entry about the NC pastor who had forced out the Kerry-supporting parishioners. Well, the pastor in my parallel story is still there, and I've learned that he is expected to be there for another three years.
The Pastor Parish Relations Committee chair in that story received a rude awakening. When she retired from her career job, she served as secretary of the church. She was astonished to find that the pastor, who she considered a friend, would treat her as badly as he had done with previous secretaries. I learned that she moved to Florida.
And the Hispanic pastor who had been booted out was embraced by the Troy Conference of the United Methodist Church, and is most definitely in a better place.)

I've learned that it's interesting to me to keep up with Methodist stuff. It's like being an expatriate in the United States who becomes a citizen, but still keeps up with the goings-on in the old country.

I've learned that when I listen to some mixed Hembeck mixed tape, there's invariably a song with which I'm not that familiar, but that seems to be appropriate for my state of mind.

The more we learn, the less we believe to be true.
The more we prove, the more remains to be proved.
We've gotta be strong men and follow a path again.

We've got to have faith in something bigger,
Faith in something bigger,
Faith in something big inside ourself, inside ourself.

I own The Who's Odds and Sods on vinyl, but I've learned that I can hear an old song for the first time. I've learned that I can ignore bad grammar in pop songs...sometimes.

I've learned that the hardest part of these pieces is the ending.