Wednesday, February 07, 2007

July Fifth at the Family Fold Redux

For the past several months, I've been participating in what's become a happy tradition--the Blog Exchange. It's that time of the month when my regular readers (all four of them) invariably start to wonder what kind of schizophrenic spell has overtaken me and my writing style. The BE is the brainchild of Kristen at Motherhood Uncensored, who describes it as a place "where blog authors can stretch their writing muscles, discuss and debate timely topics, and gain new readers by placing their post on someone else's blog."

However, after speaking with a few of my friends-turned-readers, I've discovered that not everyone follows the whole "exchange" concept through to the end. They'll read the entry on my blog, but won't click on the link that brings them to the site where they can find my own guest post. To that end, I have decided to repost my latest BE entry right here on home cyber turf. If you've already read it, please excuse the redundancy--but feel free to comment on what you think about the whole BE concept.

And now, reprinted with my own permission:

July Fifth at the Family Fold


The writers challenge:
Write a post in the voice/style of a famous person (actor, singer, author, whatever). It can be a hot topic, current issue, or just a regular old post.

The readers challenge:
To guess the identity of the famous person


June’s smile was a gaping halo of summertime. She lit me up. I remember that night at the Grand Ole Opry when I told her I’d always wanted to meet her. She said, “I feel like I know you already.” I took her by the hand and she was warm, not hot like the Hell we went through after that.

My sky is June-blue. It’s wide open beyond the hewn beams of the Fold. The clouds take the shape of signs that I’m not alone, not unlovable. Once she said she was ashamed to tell me that she felt it from the very beginning, when I wasn’t hers to love. Then, I was afraid to say it, too. But the fire was there. She wrote about it in a song and the shame turned to pride.

I sang it today. I was hoarse beforehand. I’ve been surprised lately by how old and tired I feel. I swigged some water and apologized. I heard “it’s okay,” and other murmurings. One lady called out to me. She said, “You don’t have to even sing.”

“I don’t?” I looked up and smiled. “Okay.”

They laughed, all of them. And my fingers found the strings. I sang June’s song.

I thank God for June. I love her with all my heart.

It’s July now, and she’s gone.


9 comments:

Wildefrost said...

I'm going to say Johnny Cash. And wickedly well done Binks.

Kacey said...

Oooh, you're Johnny! That was great! I don't live too far from the Carter Fold and plan to go there when it gets warmer. I have friends who go often and say it's a great place to spend an evening!

Girlplustwo said...

johnny cash? and not just cause everyone else is saying it either.

i walk the line on my own, sister.

Not From Lapland said...

Once again, a lovely piece.

it's interesting about people not clicking over to the other site. umm, made me want to repost mine again now!

Anonymous said...

I'm married to you and BE's still throw me. I'll think, "Wow, I never knew that my wife did that in college. This changes everything."
I figure it out eventually but it definitely throws me for a loop. On the other hand, there's a brief moment of excitement where I feel like I'm discovering something shocking and new just like when we first met.

Her Bad Mother said...

LOOOOOVE IT!

Redneck Mommy said...

Big Johnny Cash fan here. Before he was cool once more.

But I confess Binky, I get annoyed by the whole BE thing. I click on the site, eagerly anticipating to read your writing, only to scratch my head and wonder what the hell is going on. Then understanding dawns, but by now I'm irritated and don't click the link.

Sorry Binks. But you know I love ya. I'd walk through a Ring of Fire for ya.

Anonymous said...

Someone's been watching Walk the Line.

Im on the fence on the BE's. It's been too much work lately. Am going to try and jump back in this month, although after reading this, maybe not.

Anonymous said...

If I wanted to read another blog, I'd read another blog. If you want to recommend a Blog, give me an excerpt and a header. If you think your readers might enjoy a particular blogger, just list some recommendations. For example:
Boz's Blog
Writes about personal finance, tips, and tricks to be frugal. Occasionally deviates off-topic. Likes video games and long walks on the beach.
Boing Boing
A blog containing a mish-mash of weird news, new inventions, and societal commentary.
In summary, BE sucks.