MEMBER'S PERSPECTIVE

I originally wanted to comment on Camille's editorial, but would rather address all the members as well as the folks who visit the Coffee Shop: I fall somewhere in between Camille, who was not a member of the old guard and those friendships that have endured through Lit and the Lit room blog. Although I was a semi-regular chatter in Lit, I formed no real friendships, other than with a girl or two, and did not get caught up in the eternal gossip that surrounded Lit. An outsider looking in, and quite content.

Here in the Coffee Shop, it is an entirely different environment. a select few girls (apologies to Dan and male visitors), each with different interests and skills from prose to poetry, from photography to off the charts creativity, girls who know each other, who have bonds with each other, and relate to each other in specific ways, plus those of us who have no particular close friendships, and so can't or least don't comment on certain personal posts. One notices that the best responses to posts are when birthdays occur and quantity of the comments spikes up sharply. But does one really participate in a birthday greeting if you don't know the person at all, and only see the name in print occasionally. Yes ,it is common courtesy, but I find myself in that position at times. Perhaps it is the small number of 25 that creates this bond. Members respond to those posts they have interest in , be it politics or stories or pictures. That is the nature of blogs. In all due respect to Saffron and Camille, who are excellent leaders and Managers of this blog, to get 25-30 % of members in any blog contributing regularly is quite a feat, and we should thank both of them for creating such a diverse blog. It is the total number 25, that creates, what appears to be so very few participants, not a lack of interest. Otherwise, even the birthday greeting comments would be low. However, to be totally honest, my purpose for coming here was not to bond with the other members, as much as it was to participate in a blog, to express myself on topics I am comfortable with, to learn, to simply view and have fun and yes , as a serindipitous experience, meet one or two new friends. Perhaps that is selfish of me, not recognizing the hard work that goes into maintaining the blog, and not giving credit and commenting on interesting topics that are not normal processes in my life. But I suspect like most, if not all of us, the Coffee Shop is not our primary source of communication, learning and enjoyable activities. We all have other lives and on any given day prioritize what we do in order to provide food, clothing and shelter for ourselves and loved ones. Unfortunately, a blog is not part of Maslow's heirarchy.

If the blog disappears, I really do not believe it is for a lack of interest, as much as an evolvement in the lives of the people of determining priorities. As the daughter of establishment hippies from the 1960s, I learned about Fretz Perls, the father of Gestalt:
"I do my thing , and you do yours. I am not in this world to live up to your expectations, and you are not in this world to live up to mine. You are you and I am I, and if by chance we find each other, then it is beautiful. If not, it can't be helped." This sums up my feelings about the Coffee Shop even if it reads a bit callous. It is not meant to be at all. Thanks.