I haven’t posted much over the past year and a half. My wife passed away and my mind just hasn’t been with it. 

Yesterday, though, I decided to post something even if it was lousy. The old “A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step” kind of thing. I’m sure you know it better than me.

At any rate, I batted out a quickie titled Gun Crazy, a sort of chronicle of my early experiences as a gun aficionado and my subsequent segue into another life style. There were no startling revelations behind my change. Like many things we’re unaware of, we wake up one day and the old life isn’t there anymore.

Imagine my surprise when my post was selected as an Editor’s Pick and placed prominently at the top of the Open Salon “front page.” I mean, like, I was kind of “Holy Shit!” an expression I haven’t used since high school.

In short order, the post received almost 400 hits, about 350 hits more than all of my past posts combined. It was a banner day to say the least.

Of course, I know why the editors selected my post. It was topical and presented a look at guns not often found in the media. I’m no editor, but I’m no dummy either. A massacre had just occurred in Tucson and the media was burning up with stories and comments about heated political rhetoric and gun control. My personal experiences seemed relevant under the circumstances.

I therefore want to thank the editors at Open Salon for picking my brief essay for special attention.

Thank you, Gals and Guys, for juicing me up. I have already been aided immeasurably by a group of grieving people who call themselves collectively Widows and Widowers and by many of whom have individually offered their Facebook friendship to me during a time of crisis in my life.

Now, your confidence in my brief set of recollections isn’t going to be the final icing on the cake but it sure as hell is going to be a really big layer covered with lots of choclately stuff just waiting for another layer and more icing on top of that.

But before your own egos reach the stars from the euphoria of having discovered a new talent, let me give you Editors and Editor-esses a word of cautionary advice.

If you’re dealing with a guy like me, surprise can be deadly. When, without warning, I saw my post as an Editor’s Pick, my heart started pounding and my blood pressure soared. I was barely able to get up and walk to the telephone to call the 300 friends who immediately clicked on my post.

You wouldn’t want to be the cause of a blogger’s heart attack, would you?