Many Thanks!

I have been really touched by some comments on my blog this weekend. So much so that I am typing away on Sunday, something that is a first for me in regard to this blog.

When I decided to do this I did not have a target audience. I have always felt like I was standing on an island by myself when it came to my interest in family history and that of my hometown. So many of my blogs have just been for me, a way to express a sincere love or gratitude to some individual or group of individuals. I had no idea who would become interested in one blog or another, as they are all really centered on my life experiences and those of people who have been involved in my life, directly or indirectly.

I have blogged about my best friend's Dad, my Grandfather, who I never got the chance to meet, and my Papaw, who I do know and love. I have talked about both of my Grandmothers, my dear Aunt Ami - who I love so much, my Mom, my hometown, Mae West... you name it. If it came into my head, I have blogged about it. There are surely more to come.

What is so important to me is in this blog. I have been so blessed with family and friends. I consider my life so much easier to live because of their love, support, and their own specific qualities they bring to the table.

My Dad has always told me to take people for who they are, and I have always tried to do that. Over the course of my twenty eight years, I have not lived to experience the same amount of life lessons or relationships, or simply put, as much life as those that I blog about. However, with their examples I feel like I have been given a pretty good road map.

I only wanted to receive two results from this blog. First, I have always wanted to write stories or even a book about people that I have known. My Grandfather Decola and my Papaw must have had those same yearnings. A desire to record things about people that they loved and respected. In a way to touch on the legacies of those that touched our lives in ways that could have only been out of love. This blog does that.

If you did or do not know any of the people or even the places that I have blogged about, you do now. I have no way of knowing, but I hope that those people that I have written about, that are not living, would be proud to see their names associated in the text I have provided. I hope that if they were able to read these they would understand how appreciative I have been for their lives, and that was the second thing. To share some of the goodness that has been mine for the taking, whether to arouse a laugh or spark one of your own memories.

Stories mean a lot to me. Stories have been a part of my life since the very beginning. I have retold stories over and over, stories that people shared with me and represent a really good memory. Stories that have painted pictures in my imagination and have given me so much joy. I feel compelled for some reason to share some of that joy, in some ways knowing that stories and analogies bring people and ideas together.

The blog titled, If you could read my mind , are my thoughts and opinions and in no way do I feel that they are profound or monumental, but I do feel that they are worthy.

I wondered if anyone was reading this out there and now that I know, I couldn't be more pleased. Thank you for taking the time to let me know how you felt, it made me feel so good. I have never wrote a book or a song, but I'm blogging. Everyone has their own way!