How did Erma do it?

Hi,
Erma Bombeck was my favorite columnist. She appeared in the Toronto Star, Monday through Friday, and I was her most avid reader. She always had something to say. How did she do it? Every day there were another 800 words (I'm guessing, I never counted) of wisdom, humor, insight, silliness, laughter and tears. I got to know her family in that piece of paper, no ones secrets were safe. Many times I was glad it was her daughter, and not me, having their school grades or love life talked about in national syndication. I wonder what her kids are doing now? I miss her. Dear Abby and Anne Landers doled out info but it was never as intimate or personal as Erma. Erma made you feel like she just dropped in for tea and wanted to chat for a minute before having to go to a load of laundry or rescue the dog again. I wanted a best friend like her.

This brings me to why I'm thinking about Erma Bombeck today. I blog, but not religiously. I don't feel like I have the voice needed to do this job every day. I sure can be loud when I want to be, but do I have to add to the noise all the time? Our Uncle Alec was the quietest man I ever met. I used to think he only knew how to whisper, but when he spoke everyone in the family got quite so they could hear him. Maybe I should have learned to whisper. Filling my blog feels good to me, but does anyone listen? Erma was the original blogger to me. She never seemed to shout but millions of her readers heard her voice daily. I am so jealous of her ability to hold everyones' attention for 3 minutes. Today you can stand naked in Times Square and no one will notice. Ask the Naked Cowboy who does it every day. He admits that he's become almost invisible to New Yorkers. The only people who pay attention to him singing in a Stetson and boots, and nothing else, are the occasional tourist... and even they aren't terribly fazed. What's a person have to do these days to get an audience? I shudder to think.

So I blog. I type. I wax poetic, or not. Does it get read? I have no idea. Sometimes people I know will comment in passing but most of the time I have no clue if I am being heard at all. I wonder if Erma ever thought about the sound she made. Was it loud or soft? I know she had 'fan mail' that would pour in when she would comment on something that would get her readerships' attention. She then would turn that into her next column. Maybe it's that part of the dialogue that is missing with a blog. I understand why comedians need the instant laughter of the audience. Without it, you never know if anyone is listening or not.

xox
m