I must say, I was very surprised by the response my e-mail account has received since my review was printed in The Net's Blue Pages. And what an odd review it was. Half good -- half questionable. Good design -- ambivalent content, ie, my writing. I's funny, I never thought I'd be slammed for my written brain-drain. I never really thought of it as anything serious to begin with. I's just me -- talking on paper.

But then the e-mail began to appear. People were saying "right-on" and "you go!" Fourteen year old skater girls were saying they too know what it's like to be harassed for their passion. Forty something ex-punk rockers were telling me they'd been through the same ostracism for the clothes they wore (albeit years before me.) Seventeen year old boys simply saying "Thanks." Thanks? For what?

Thanks for sharing, of course. I don't pretend to think I'm soooo unique -- like my life story is oh-so-interesting everyone will want to read all about it. I just write what I feel -- an people are invited to read. And maybe they'll see some of them selves in it. Maybe. Maybe not.

But I can't express how wonderful it is to have touched even one person with my mundane scribbling. I may not be a great writer. I may mess up a few control-character escape codes. But I am able to touch people as they bask in the warm glow of their monitors. Maybe I can get through to just a few people. And then maybe just enough for them to chuckle and think, "God. I miss the days of 'Modern English'." If I can do just that much -- then it's worth it for me to post my crap on the net.

Many people move through life surrounded by so many strangers -- they see faces of others that appear to be disguises or masks or shining armor worn to deflect the world. The net is a little different. Here people upload the most private thoughts and feelings for prying eyes to ogle. You can see inside someone's mind -- if they let you. And if you're lucky you can catch a glimpse of what lives just beyond the facade. You become a peeping-tom into into some total stranger's private life. The net is about voyeurism to the core. (Don't get me wrong -- there is a difference between reading someone's tale of lost virginity and reading their Top 10 all time favorite Monty Python sketches.) Any one with access is capable of becoming a published author with world wide distribution. I like that. It gives souls to many faces you might never see in real life.

I plan to continue writing -- for the duration of my life. It's an activity I enjoy. My web site provides me with a means to share my self and my writing with countless others. And ultimately that's what life's all about anyway -- isn't it? Sharing.