January 2009 (cont.)

It is no surprise that my private thoughts, flung into the world so publicly, would be answered with an even more profound silence than the one generated by a newly published book. I wrote the journal, the writing tips, contributed an already-written piece to the memoir, talked about what I was working on, added other elements needed for my web site, and sat back and waited.

Nothing. Of course.

My son's former girlfriend and my grandson, Jonathan

In truth I expected nothing. I'm a rational human being. I know that words tossed onto the Internet are little different than pebbles tossed into the sea.

Against all odds, though, gradually, slowly, my web site began to garner a harvest, an intriguing one. Because of my journal, I have heard from old friends with whom I'd long been out of touch.

I wrote of my son's illness and eventually his death, and his one-time girlfriend, someone I had very much wanted to contact but didn't know how, followed the events as they unfolded and reached out to me. She even brought a grandson to me whom I hadn't seen since he was a very little boy.

More than a year after my partner of twenty years moved out, to my great amazement my web site brought me a new love!