#181: A Little Help from My Friends
What's this newsletter about?
“You can’t please everyone, so you got to please yourself.”—Rick Nelson
Last week’s post apparently upset a few subscribers both paid and free. Upset may be a mild-ish description of some of the private missives I have received from subscribers who shared in no uncertain terms that any thoughts on politics, women’s rights, the environment, or my version of spirituality have no place in my newsletter and that they are ONLY here for recipes and nothing more. Then they unsubscribe or cancel paid subscriptions which absolutely is their right to do, but losing paid subscription income, which pays my bills, is never easy.
I honestly can’t write about just one part of me or allow myself to feel that I am walking on eggs trying not to offend someone or set them off. I spent way too many years doing that in my final marriage never knowing when “the wuzband” was going to erupt in a verbal or physical tirade. So, being able to freely share my thoughts with you in this space means a great deal to me.
“Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.” —Dr Seuss
When I started this newsletter in 2021, I wanted it to be a place where I could write about anything. On the About page I write about the Who, What, When, Where, and Why of my newsletter. Here’s the WHY:
As an elder-crone-wise woman, or whatever you want to call one who has stopped caring about wrinkles and silver hair, I feel it is important to pass on as much as I can about what I have learned and what I care about.
Sure, I bake. I have been all my life…
but there’s a heck of a lot more to me than recipes and sharing more of me with you, no matter how scary it is to do so, is what I would like to continue doing.
“We have to dare to be ourselves, however frightening or strange that self may prove to be.” ― May Sarton
But I can’t do this without you so here are three ways that you can help support my writing and keep our newsletter going.
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Thanks for sticking around. It means a lot.
Tune for Today
Joe Cocker’s version of The Beatle’s With a Little Help from My Friends
I saw this same thing with another true to herself blogger who is wildly popular and spreads joy wherever she goes. The vitriol expressed by some of her readers was astonishing. One of her mantras was "kindness matters." But when she expressed her feelings about Trump's election back in 2016, a very vocal minority of her readers almost convinced her to stop writing. I think you are wonderful in every way, and the fact that you have a working brain and true heart sweetens the pie for me.
Sure we’re all tired of the 24-7 Trump show....but the worst thing we can do is to ignore it....we tried but it didn’t go away. Makes me wonder about the standard advice on bullying....just ignore it and they’ll stop? Tried that....and really, it made it worse. It made it look like it didn’t matter....on the street, in the press, on a baking site....it matters and we need to speak up.