WHERE HAVE ALL THE BLOGGERS GONE....

I have this song lingering in my brain, and every now and then it pops up.  It was a song from the early 60's made famous by Peter, Paul and Mary.  By the time I was a child playing in the 70's it was already a classic that was constantly being played on the “oldies” station.  It was called “Where have all the flowers gone”.  Haunting tune, I loved it so much as a child.

I hadn’t thought of that song for years, until the other day when I caught myself humming it in the shower but I had, for some reason, replaced the word “flowers” with the word “bloggers”.  It went something like this:

Where have all the bloggers gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the bloggers gone?
Long time ago
Where have all the bloggers gone?
Girls have picked them every one
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?

If you don’t know the song, I highly recommend that you Youtube it. Perhaps, a tad sad but a beautiful song nonetheless.

Blogland has been bothering me lately, especially when I view my blogroll.  So many of my favourite bloggers have gone awol and I am missing them.  In fact, I am downright concerned and worried about some of them.

It’s been almost four months since Andrea from Maundering Mutterer stopped blogging.  I fell in love with her straightforwardness.  Living in Africa, educating her loyal followers on life there, teaching me things I never new, sharing her heartaches, such as her mother passing of cancer, her finding out she had the same cancer, her kind heart that adopted a wide range of animals her mother left behind, the nasty brother who was all for the money, and her finding the strength to take him on.  I think of her often and hope that she won her battle against the cancer.

Then there was “J”, also known as the International Woman of Mystery.  Her blog started off as an expat from the US living abroad in Europe.  She had been there for nine years and it was her tale of life and seeking love over there.  Abruptly, her world changed when her job transferred her back to Boston. She was having culture shock living back in the US, she was mourning the loss of her life in Europe, she was trying to fit in, she had lost her beloved grandfather and she was coming to terms with the changes in her family and personal life. She was one of those ones I wanted to hug and tell them it would be all okay.

And then Deborah from the Adventures in Ceredo, one of my first and most loyal followers, broke off from blogging.  She only posted a pic or two per week, but I looked forward to seeing them.  I knew that was all she was able to give of herself, and I felt that it was such a precious part of her. I always anticipated a comment from her on each post and am sad that I don’t see her in my feedjit anymore.  It was like losing a friend and I wish so much for her.

There have been others that have gone MIA that I think about often too, like:

Hannah from Erratic Questions about a Simple Life - I was just getting to know her.

And Tracy from Life's Little Stepping Stones

And let’s not forget the lovely Paul from I took the Road Less Traveled  He was one of my favourites and I often hope that his wife’s pregnancy went well, and that hopefully, he is just so happily involved with the newness of fatherhood that he doesn’t have time for the demands of blogland

And Bruce Johnson... I could always count on a daily giggle from him.

There are many more, I am afraid to say...

It’s funny how involved you can get into a stranger’s life and how much it effects your life when they are struggling or happy, sad or delighted. Eventually, they work their way into your heart and become your equal, your little sister, your support system, the older brother, the girl next door, the funny guy at the party, a mother figure, but mostly your friend.

So for Andrea, “J”, Deborah, Hannah, Tracy, Paul, Bruce and all the others, I hope you are safe, you are happy, and that life is so wonderful you have no need for blogland, but mostly I want to thank you for touching my life, you have impacted me in ways words cannot describe.

Until Next Time.

Tracy