According to my website statistics I've had approximately 300 visits since I posted a request that readers de-lurk. And the only comment I've gotten has been from my old pal Liz. I shouldn't be surprised, I guess. I myself read many blogs on which I have never left a comment. Looking to the right I see that I have links to almost fifty websites, of which it's possible to leave comments on maybe forty. I've left comments on only four of them, as best as I can recall.
When Ezra Klein started his own blog he asked readers to critique his banner, and I left a comment saying "It's a big banner". I once left a comment at the Whiskey Bar, but I don't remember what it was about. The blog I read most often is Eschaton, which I've read daily for a couple of years at least. I've left maybe half a dozen comments there. I've left a few comments on Making Light, when the topic being discussed was particularly interesting. That's all.
As the election has receded from memory like a bad dream, I've felt burned out on politics, and there has developed kind of a disconnect between what I link to and what I actually read. In addition to the livejournals of the people on my lj "friends" list, there are quite a few blogs I read that aren't listed on the right, and I've never commented on any of them.
One of my favorite blogs these days is The Big Yellow House. The author is a woman who has seven children between the ages of 10 and 0. She writes about the mundane insanity of raising and "unschooling" seven children, while renovating a drafty old house with 22 rooms. She has a terrific sense of humor. I read her blog because she makes me laugh out loud; I don't comment because, frankly, we have nothing in common.
I'm sure I'm not the only stranger who reads Trip to Wonderful, although very few comments are left there and they all seem to be from people who know the author. It's written by a mother of four kids, two of whom are autistic. She and her husband recently sold their house and are buying an RV and planning on spending several months traveling around the country. I can't wait to hear about her experiences.
From a link on that site I found travelogue, written by another mother of four who, along with husband and kids, lives in an RV and travels through Mexico, full time. More shockingly unschooled children who have somehow miraculously learned readin' and writin' while building sand castles and wading through tide pools on the coast of the Caribbean!
Another favorite is Pop's Bucket, and again, it's all about sense of humor. He's a stay-at-home dad, and while I love his blog, I don't really have anything in common with him and I don't really have anything to say.
So maybe I shouldn't be too surprised that I don't get many comments. Some people would prefer to send email, but readers be warned: the email address linked to this blog gets a lot of spam and I delete all mail that isn't from an address I recognize. So if you want to say hi, leaving a comment is the best bet.
Well, I'm a talkative wench anyway. You, however, are an eveeial person to post such interesting links! I can hardly keep up with my reading as it is. :)
lol--here's another one for ya-- check out http://underagedrvers.blogspot.com/ and read through the archives. You might as well start at the beginning--you'll want to go back and read it all eventually. This is a young couple (by our standards--the wife is 31) who are professional white-water rafting river guides, certified to guide trips through level V rapids. They also kayak, ski, do mountain biking, hiking, and some rock climbing. In June of last year they sold their house in Durango, Colorado, bought a huge camper, fitted it with racks to hold kayaks and bikes and all kinds of stuff, and they are spending a year traveling all over the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. They spent a few months looking for the perfect place to spend the winter skiing, and they are looking for the perfect town in which to settle next. They are hiking, biking, rafting, etc... through the most beautiful spots in North America. They took a 21-day rafting trip down the Grand Canyon (they waited 10 years for the permit). The wife takes a lot of pictures and the photography is really, really good. Of all the blogs I've read and said "I want her life", I think I have found the ultimate blog for vicarious living.
Ha! I'm almost afraid to read that one; I will just get heartsick!
But just to get you back: check out wouldashoulda.com -- I found the link off the Big Yellow House and it's also priceless, well-written, and almost makes me wish I'd had kids after all! (I would've needed her sense of humor to enjoy it that much, though.)