And then … shocker of shockers, sometime near the start of this year, it looked like the foundling was recalled and sent back home. While the jury is still out on whether the parental units are actually still committed to raising the child, it has at least been returned to a functioning home, even if mum and dad have clearly lost interest in their parental duties. I guess all of us at OS have become, for now, latchkey kids.
In my first and second anniversary posts, I gave thanks to those on the site who took the time to read and comment, also sending a “Hello” to those off-site readers. While I issue yet another genuine “Merci!” to those of you here who are still supporting and reading (and you know who you are), the sad reality is that the majority of the people who I’ve read and rated through the years are now gone. At least from OS. I’ve managed to cyber-meet and (sometimes personally meet) and get to know a number of terrific people through this virtual doorway where reciprocal interaction and support continues, but just not always via this site.
It’s obvious to me now via Facebook “Likes”/messages as well as communication from my WordPress mirror site that the bulk of people reading are doing so from outside of OS. While that was always part of my plan — to use this as a base to extend from — it’s still sort of sad to see this core base residence erode and, just as bad, become so homogenous and incestuous: death knells for any type of organism that needs to grow for survival.
It’s a drag to be a bit of a Debbie Downer for an anniversary post but I tend to be a call-em-as-I-see-em kind of guy, be it joyful or despairing. Half-full or half-empty glasses for me depend wholly on the specifics and context of any singular situation. Which glass is OS? I’m hoping for the former, but bracing for the latter. Time will tell.
Regardless, I want to close this on a more positive note …. Big Thanks to not only those remaining OS-ers I interact with and who take the time to read and comment, but to everyone else I hear from as well via a variety of doorways, with hope that perhaps OS may once again return to the diverse — in a variety of senses — and energetic place it was circa 2009/10 when I first discovered it and came on board. This is such a unique online opportunity …. Hey, New Blood Out There: come on board — it’s an SOS.
Here’s to a 4th. Cheers!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aU4pyiB-kq0]
“Three Is A Magic Number,” by Bob Dorough from Schoolhouse Rock
PREVIOUS ANNIVERSARY COVERS
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© 2013 VariousArtists
Comments From The Original opensalon.com Posting
scene, new and old?I concur with your sentiments. In my December anniversary post, I said I didn’t know if I’d be around for another. Still don’t, even though a lot of technical issues have been resolved. Further, the lack of new blood, coupled with the loss of so many outstanding writers, is undermining what this site once stood for.
It’s way past bedtime.
I promise to reread.
I be here a century.
It seems like that.
`
I kept getting booted from Big Salon.
I had to Gold Star $45.00 accounts.
`
bebop-0
&
Great Celery!
`
etc., Kerry L.?
He sorta Loco?
He Oscar Grouch?
He never is Well?
`
Then Here @ O.S.?
He booted me Here.
I was Arthur James.
Then, I` Art James.
Why we stay Here?
`
We Folks Goofy,
Groggy, Kooky,
and Get Sleepy.
`
Aye, Tomorrow
littlewillie. I agree. Sigh.
I sense something fishy.
Where can sane folk go?
`
We can go elsewhere?
Order Carry Out Crab?
Crab Gazpacho is Soup.
`
It’s got cilantro, lemon juice,
cumin, onions, blue crab meat.
We meet where? Dog House.
`
OHO!
OMG!
I agree.
`
Is there another Place?
Where are those who left?
Where is old goat/dog site?
littlewillie: Thanks for the compliment and for dropping by. I wish you’d publish from time to time again on OS — always enjoyed your dark sense of humourArt: Those who left are scattered among the universe …
