COLLABORATING WITH CATHEY
Building Online Friendships thru Substack
“Honey, there’s Mike and Bev!” my husband yelled as the two Cardinals swooped into our backyard. As the harbingers of good fortune and messengers of love hopped around under our bushes looking for berries and insects, memories of us jumping up & down at the Midget League football games when Mike coached the Cardinals came flooding back to us.
“Jan, remember how the officials used to lose the ball when the Cardinals did those fake reverses? Oh, and those direct snaps to the running back through the quarterback’s legs got ‘em everytime.” I have to admit it WAS a really funny sight, seeing those pint size football players nicknamed Tank, Hot Dog, Termite, Banana and Dewie zigzagging around the Guardian Field.
All the Cardinal coaches including Mike were tough, lovable, funny characters. “Stoney, do you remember the time Bongo had fake prescription labels made up at the drug store and put on bottles of Tic Tacs? He actually told the players — and OUR cheerleader daughters — they were pep pills. Can you imagine doing that today?!?”
Or the time they told the boys the coaches would run laps if the team accomplished a certain goal. “Yeah, I don’t think the players thought it was very funny when some of the coaches showed up with casts on their legs when it was time to run,” chuckled my hubby. “ But I thought it was hilarious!”
My husband and I always love recalling cherished memories when we see our first Cardinal each year, but this time I was also reminded of something else really important: don’t ASS-U-ME things!
You see, when I shared a picture of one of the first Cardinals to land in our yard this spring, Cathey Cone, my online blogger friend from Colbert, Washington, commented that she had NEVER seen a Cardinal. What?!?! Cathey has a beautiful backyard full of trees and animals. She and her husband camp around the most scenic mountains in the United States. I was kinda shocked that she had never seen a Cardinal and even more surprised that I didn’t know there are NO Cardinals in the Pacific Northwest.
Map from Google Images
As I age, I realize there is still SO MUCH I don’t know…
So Cathey and I thought it might be fun to collaborate on a blog entry, allowing each other’s subscribers to get to know us -- to see the world from our different vantage points. Cathey’s blog Footnotes from the Flipside is full of uplifting poems, essays and stories about people who inspire her. She has also done awesome interviews with actors like Graham Wardle and Kerry James from the television series “Heartland.”
I’d like to invite you today to get to know my friend Cathey. Then I’d love for you to go to HER blog and read MY answers to these very same questions:
What’s your writing story? How did writing become a passion for you?
I started writing in elementary school. I was an avid reader (winters in Montana are cold and long!) and wanted to write my own adventures. I had a healthy imagination. I added poetry in middle school. The more I wrote the more I wanted to write. I thought it would be my career and that was my focus in university. But life happened and I totally gave it up for a lot of years. I thought I had lost the passion. When I quit my job 2 years ago I dipped my toes back in by starting a blog. My writing and the responses to it now fuel me every day.
What do you remember about how we connected online?
I had seen a few comments from Jan in Graham Wardle’s Substack writing community and loved her quippy sense of humor and she seemed very wise. I am drawn to smart people who express themselves well. I think it was during the August writing challenge when she said, “I can’t write poetry” but then wrote an amazing poem that I had to comment back. I enjoyed her sunny outlook and sense of humor and when I saw the way she wrote, I was pretty sure we were kindred spirits in some way. I think I commented on her poem that she should start her own Substack page. And here we are!
What are your other interests/passions/causes?
I love being out in nature and going on adventures and I’m working on enhancing my photography skills so I can use my own photos to illustrate my writing. Learning is a passion for me. I’m highly curious and I always want to figure out how things work and also make sure I’m keeping my mind sharp in my "sunset" years. I’m pretty passionate about my grandkids and spending time with them and feeding into their young lives. I support causes that have to do with kids and making life better for them. As much as I love kids, I like them a few at a time. The idea of being a teacher gives me anxiety to even think about so I admire Jan and all teachers. I think they are so brave.
What’s a favorite quote that describes you or the way you look at life?
I love quotes so it was hard to pick just one, but this one by Maya Angelo strikes a chord: “My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive, and do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor and some style.” I survived a bout with cancer 20 years ago and ever since I have wanted to live every day like it could be my last. Not every day is an adventure, but I like making them happen as often as possible.
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Well, I received a wonderful message from Cathey several days ago. She and her husband are visiting friends in Oklahoma. Guess what? She saw her very first Cardinal!!! Could Mike and Bev have gotten out to Oklahoma that fast? Well, maybe — if they used that famous Midget League Double Reverse. ha!
Go Team!!!
Please Subscribe to Footnotes from the Flipside. It’s FREE. (You can click on this link to read Cathey’s blog with my answers.) It will be so much fun for all of us to read different points of view. And perhaps Cathey and I will motivate YOU to become writers on Substack too! There’s still so much to learn… xoxo
It’ll Be OK.
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“I only know the names of two angels, Hark and Harold.” ~ Gregory, age 5
COMMENT: Please, say hello to Cathey and tell us if you believe in heavenly messengers.
Great piece of writing Cathey and Jan . I always enjoy reading your blogs ladies, you always do an amazing job!!
I believe so much that when you see a cardinal it means that someone you love is watching over you. When my mum passed away there was always one cardinal in my garden, I just felt that it was my mum watching over me . I had never seen a cardinal before that.🙏♥️
Thanks for sharing your get together with Cathey. You both have such stories to tell. I was surprised when Cathey and Irene said they never saw a Cardinal. I, too, did not know they were not in the Pacific Northwest and other areas of the world. My mother loved Cardinals and I do believe they come to visit us when we need them or least expect it. Someone is always watching out for us!!!