Rita’s Digest

Yes, it’s true.  www.bloggrrl.com is playing with the big gals - and she likes it – a lot.  By now, I’m certain that many (at least 100) women are grateful to www.enkayblog.com for coming up with his scientific, unimpeachable list of “The Top 100 Female Bloggers Today.”  (www.enkayblog.com/top100)  Certainly, for a hetero-guy (if he is), it must be a great feeling knowing that your name is being uttered so frequently by the 100 female bloggers on the list.  At this point, I feel like I’m on “The Bachelor,” and I’ve come away with the 4^th-to-final rose, thrilled that I made it that far on national TV, yet at the same time somewhat relieved, as I was not CERTAIN that enkay was the man with whom I wanted to spend my entire life.  So, as I reflect in the limo as to how I can maybe be the next “BACHELORETTE,” I’ll share my comments out loud with my faithful followers.

First, it must be acknowledged, as most of you know, that I am the “new” Bloggrrl.  The person who sold this site to move on to bigger and better, gets the first thanks for deciding to change direction and allowing me to pick up a large, yet dwindling, reader base.  I hope that this year’s rank of #29 (YES, WE EVEN MADE THE TOP 30!) will continue to have readership growth, and that next year, Bloggrrl can move into the Top 25.

Second, I really DO have a sort-of “agent.”  And he gets the second thanks, because when this site was sold, he recommended me to take over, after having read some of my prior rantings.  He felt that I could grow the site and on a moment’s notice, I had my very own blog.  He is my patron, but more importantly, my friend, and I hope not to let him down as I continue my Bloggrrl bluntness.  I write a new blog every day for 2 reasons:  one is my own desire to do so, and the other is to make him happy.  So, to my agent, I say:  we share this award.

Third, my undying thanks to Kate Turabian.  If you don’t know who she is, and you made the “Top 100 List,” you are either brilliant, or your blog addresses an issue or issues that are extremely popular in themselves.  Kate Turabian wrote THE book on the use of the English language.  She was the Emily Post (or Miss Manners) of grammar.  Even today, I keep an updated copy of Ms. Turabian’s book on the same shelf as my dictionary (a printed one!), my thesaurus and my quotations books.  Along with my thanks, however, go my apologies:  I’ve fragmented sentences and even (shhh!) dangled a participle or two.  Times have changed, and with email, IM’s and blogs, certain things are accepted that would NOT be appropriate to Kate Turabian.  Nonetheless, if you’re ever looking for THE definitive book on usage of the English language, hers is the standard – and well worth the investment.

Fourth, I need to thank my mom.  Though she died too young, she instilled in me the one statement that I’ve ALWAYS tried to heed:  write what you know about, and know what you’re writing about.  It seems like simple advice – and perhaps it is, but if I were asked to write a blog about, let’s say quilting, it would take me far more research than writing time.  And that is time that I just don’t have.  (Yes, I know – sentence fragments.)  So, for the millions of other things I’ve thanked you for over the years (while ridiculously looking skywards), I add this to the list a loving thank you for, as you would have said, “putting a feather in my cap.”

Fifth, I need to thank my husband – the only other person who knows who Bloggrrl REALLY is.  Before I post a blog, I send it to him, for a last-minute edit and proof-reading job.  He usually gives a thumbs up, but occasionally makes corrections that desperately need an overhaul.  I guess he is my editor and I can’t possibly think of a better person for the job, as he writes beautifully.  Whenever I read something of his, it is apparent that he does not use one word that doesn’t need to be used, and never omits a word that is necessary to what he is trying to convey.  I aspire to write as well as he does.

Of course, I need to thank enkay, my children, friends, acquaintances and others who provide me with much of the content to write in the first place.  You may not know who you are, but you do deserve my thanks.

Finally, I would like to thank the one person in the world I NEVER thought I would thank for ANYTHING:  that person is George Bush, Supreme-Court-Appointed President of the United States.  The reason I thank him is that this is the only time I believe I will ever be able to say:  “Thank you for FINALLY leaving office soon – though not soon enough for me.”  For my readers who wonder what this has to do with being #29 on the Top 100 Female Bloggers List, the answer is, absolutely nothing.  I just figured that since I was thanking so many people, I might just get away with a final – and heartfelt – thank you to a person who has provided SO MUCH fodder for ALL bloggers, be they male, female, transgender, etc…and no matter WHO wins the election, I truly am thankful that Bush will no longer be in office.

By Rita - Editor in Chief