Helllloooooooooooo!
Good grief, it's been a long time since I've been here. I think maybe because I've been around on Facebook a bit more--probably a couple of reasons for that. I've been interacting with a closed group from a course I'm taking, and that is involving. Seems like a good bunch of people in general, invested in supporting one another, yay.
The other reason, besides hanging out chatting with friends, is I've been following Mikal Gilmore, the writer for Rolling Stone and author of Shot in the Heart. We used to be on the same NYC-centric BBS back in the day, and so when I stumbled on his Facebook page I started reading him again. Actually I find FB a much better forum for reading lengthy-isn posts than Echo was, so I've probably been more engaged than I was then. A few months ago, Mikal was diagnosed with cancer and has been undergoing both chemo and radiation, and he's doing pretty well. I have been really moved by the grace and openness he and his wife Elaine Schock have demonstrated during all this. Mikal has been posting regularly--his habitual commentary on music, politics, life and cats. But he's also kept a running public journal during his treatment--posting a daily picture of the radiation department with a countdown to his last treatment, and a running account of various songs they've been playing on the hospital shuttle. During the Christmas season, he posted videos of the musicians that played in the common areas at the hospital, and the decorations. Every week Elaine posts an account of the medical details. And now there's this big community on FB sending loving thoughts, prayers, cat videos, and sometimes physical gifts. It's really amazing to be part of it.
it's really moving to read their posts about each other, too. The love they express is incredibly moving. Anyone who's read Shot in the Heart knows Mikal has known darkness and he has a gift for writing about it. Seeing his unabashed declarations of love for Elaine, reading about her fierce advocacy and care during his illness...they just give me hope. It's hard to describe, but there such a lot of love--between the Shockmores, as he calls them, their friends and people who have never met them, and connections being made between those following Mikal and Elaine--there's a LOT of light and love in that corner of the internet, and for me it dispels some of the darkness that can also be found online.
In the midst of all this--while he was undergoing chemo and radiation treatments--Mikal wrote Rolling Stone's cover story on David Bowie. It's a fine read, and doubly meaningful to know that he was writing about Bowie's death while getting a powerful reminder of his own mortality.
Elaine is pretty damn cool her own self. Her updates show some great writing too, and she's had her own big jobs to attend to during this time (oh, Willie Nelson singing for the President and shit...She works with him, among other artists).
So...I've been spending more time on FB of late than I thought I ever would (apart from GISHWHES!). But it reminds me too that I have a great community here that has made a profound difference in my own life. My life wouldn't be nearly as good without fandom and LJ/DW and the community I've found in these overlapping worlds. I love you guys.
The other reason, besides hanging out chatting with friends, is I've been following Mikal Gilmore, the writer for Rolling Stone and author of Shot in the Heart. We used to be on the same NYC-centric BBS back in the day, and so when I stumbled on his Facebook page I started reading him again. Actually I find FB a much better forum for reading lengthy-isn posts than Echo was, so I've probably been more engaged than I was then. A few months ago, Mikal was diagnosed with cancer and has been undergoing both chemo and radiation, and he's doing pretty well. I have been really moved by the grace and openness he and his wife Elaine Schock have demonstrated during all this. Mikal has been posting regularly--his habitual commentary on music, politics, life and cats. But he's also kept a running public journal during his treatment--posting a daily picture of the radiation department with a countdown to his last treatment, and a running account of various songs they've been playing on the hospital shuttle. During the Christmas season, he posted videos of the musicians that played in the common areas at the hospital, and the decorations. Every week Elaine posts an account of the medical details. And now there's this big community on FB sending loving thoughts, prayers, cat videos, and sometimes physical gifts. It's really amazing to be part of it.
it's really moving to read their posts about each other, too. The love they express is incredibly moving. Anyone who's read Shot in the Heart knows Mikal has known darkness and he has a gift for writing about it. Seeing his unabashed declarations of love for Elaine, reading about her fierce advocacy and care during his illness...they just give me hope. It's hard to describe, but there such a lot of love--between the Shockmores, as he calls them, their friends and people who have never met them, and connections being made between those following Mikal and Elaine--there's a LOT of light and love in that corner of the internet, and for me it dispels some of the darkness that can also be found online.
In the midst of all this--while he was undergoing chemo and radiation treatments--Mikal wrote Rolling Stone's cover story on David Bowie. It's a fine read, and doubly meaningful to know that he was writing about Bowie's death while getting a powerful reminder of his own mortality.
Elaine is pretty damn cool her own self. Her updates show some great writing too, and she's had her own big jobs to attend to during this time (oh, Willie Nelson singing for the President and shit...She works with him, among other artists).
So...I've been spending more time on FB of late than I thought I ever would (apart from GISHWHES!). But it reminds me too that I have a great community here that has made a profound difference in my own life. My life wouldn't be nearly as good without fandom and LJ/DW and the community I've found in these overlapping worlds. I love you guys.