Afterparty 8: Returns

A few days ago, Rey described my Returning Blog Party as an “attempt at web traffic”. Now, maybe I've had a libble troo mussh to drink, imbibing on all the intoxicating words of my guests, but my fingers are loose enough at this afterparty to let everyone in on a very shocking secret. Lean in so I don't have to type this too loudly. Closer. Closer. Wait, that's too close. Better. Okay, here's the big secret: a blog party is an attempt at web traffic.

Wait! Wait, come back, the party isn't over yet! Let me explain. We all want our words to be read by others, and there are many ways to generate links. I suppose I could go the easy route and sign up with one of those link exchange services where people earn points by clicking links and having links clicked on their sites, but that gets a little too cold and mathematical for me. The blog party is metaphorical to a block party. It's personal. You get to know your neighbors and they get to know you. There's traffic of clickers and traffic of readers and then there's traffic of friends. Anyone familiar with my competitive nature knows that the numbers do appeal to me, but I don't want them to be faceless. I'd like to know just who you people are. And the really special thing, the part I really appreciate is the mingling, because it also becomes about my readers getting to know one another, about people visiting the sites I visit, and when we're all friends with one another, this really does become a neighborhood.

I think I'm starting to sober up now, enough to be sensibly embarrassed by the last two paragraphs, but too exhausted to bother rewriting them. As I mop up, and sanity and order return, I'll reminisce about all the swell folks in my neighborhood that answered the question ”WHAT ARE THE BEST THINGS IN YOUR LIFE THAT HAVE RETURNED?” with impressive poignancy, humor, and humanity:

Lorna was first to arrive, setting a high standard for those that would follow. She pondered things she's glad to have lost, things she wished she hadn't lost, and those which she'd like to lose. At the heart of the post lay the one thing she's never lost: her wits. Cheers!

Mom-to-be Kelly continued to celebration, bringing her grandmother and her best friend from high school, important people in her life lost and regained. Salute!

Scott wrambled by with a healthy helping of a high school friend. Not only that, but he set his contribution up to find yet another friend! So if you're Bill Hatcher (not the nature photographer) and you attended Manteo High School in the late 80's, what the heck are you doing here? I don't know you. Your old friend Scott's looking for you, so drop him a line. To old friends!

Hey, was that TheWriteJerry I saw? Continuing the trend of touching personal accounts, he reminded his audience of his love story, how he broke up with, prayed for, and regained a love that became his Mrs. Write. L'chaim!

Every party has a troublemaker, and rather than talk about lost things he's found, Rey made me nervous by talking about the best things that have repeated, with food as his favorite. Of course, once he elaborated as to what he meant by food repeating, it became a veritable feast. Rey wasn't a troublemaker after all, but the life of the party. Platanos!

Ah, but then Darrell arrived, certain to really liven things up. My topics range from meaningless pop culture to personal introspection, but no matter what I ask, Darrell becomes the Southern Prop Comic, smashing watermelons with his words. Only this time, he searched his soul and came up with a moving lost-and-found list that included his faith, his wife, his son, his brother, his dog, and his childhood cat. There wasn't a dry eye in the house, yet I expected the next writer might surely change that. Propane!

But Darrell's wife Wendy would also dig deep, and focus on the ups and downs of her relationship with her father, ending on a hopefully lasting high note. To family!

Last but not least was the crafty Kev Bayer. Technically, Kev was third or fourth but set his table up on the wrong part of the block, which allows me to end this summation on a high note. Kev took a deep breath and in one paragraph gave thanks for everything that comes back to him, from his wife to his daughter to taxes and more! MAXIMIZE!

And then there were nine, as Neolithic joined the fray with prequels, animation, and true love. Update!

And, that's the party. We still have a few beers and sodas for any late arrivals, so feel free to stop by the comments section. Hopefully, I didn't miss anyone. Thanks so much for joining in this carnival of creativity! We'll definitely do this again some time. Jozxyqk!