Be well

"Hello dear friends."

That is what I used to type when I entered a room on PA in the early days of that online program. Heady days.  I was excited to be learning and seemingly excelling at something among peers who, for the most part, were a good bunch of folks. Alas, those days are passed for the most part, and while I still play nearly every day, and do so with a few people who have been on the site as long as I have (or close), I enter with a simple "hi/slt" or "Howdy" and settle in to play my 100 hands as a break between other activities. PA no longer holds such a prominent place in my life and the learning curve has flattened out some at the expense of my game, but those are good things, believe me.

PA helped me get through some transitions away from the poker table, and while I may have relied too heavily on it in the very early days, the purpose was served. I needed a safe haven in which to nurture myself back from disappointment and confusion. I found encouragement through the friendships I developed, and eventually I began to emerge from my real-life shell.

This blog is a result of that encouragement. I have Forrest Gump, aka Butterbean to thank for that. And, if I may, I like to believe that this blog encouraged others to begin keeping one as well, thereby creating an extended network of comrades. More feathers in the cap that only I saw as I poked my head out a bit further.

It has been a slow process. You could call it "baby steps." You might also imagine a nest that is about to become fledged.

I have recently learned that this blog is rather easy to find. Granted, it is listed as part of my signature in emails and is a link when I post on the PA forum. All well and good... for a while. But now I find myself deleting it for certain emails, and given the ease with which it is found, perhaps by eyes that I'd rather not have, it is time to shut it down.

You could see this coming, no?

First, let me say that I am indebted to my long-time readers. Bless your hearts for sticking with it. Yet, given that I also recognize there is likely nothing I can throw at you that will make you blink, I don't want to abandon you. I believe a new adventure lays ahead, and should you want to go along for the ride, you'll be welcome. The content will change a bit (just a tiny bit but I want to try some new things),  I most likely won't post on a daily basis, and there won't be a comments section, but I'm hoping this will be for the better.

It's a bit of a paradox. I have emerged and therefore require anonymity. So, here's what we're going to do:

In the next few days I'm going to see if I can figure out how to keep this blog as an archive, for posterity matters and I have long ago stopped copying and pasting from Word. Send me your email address if you want to find out where I'll be hiding. ptcpatrick at gmail dot com. I'll keep this blog up for one more week so that everyone gets a chance to see this announcement and decide if they want to come along for the ride.

Some of you have had experience with such a shift. If you have suggestions as to how to proceed, please email me.

So, this is it. But before I bid "a bientot," and in case the new site isn't up in the next couple of weeks, I'll share a couple things that are happening in the near future. In August I have work in an exhibit in Portland. It's at Gallery Homeland and called "Read/Write." I also have some other work being published on a blog in early August. You've seen all of the work before, so no need to go looking. I just wanted to tell you about the new feathers. Plus, I'll most likely be in Las Vegas for the blogger thing in December.

Oh, and I rescued that frog from the window well.