Evidently it's true; all good thing eventually DO come to an end

Bloggers have, for the past 15 years or so, occupied something of a nebulous place in the American experience. We’ve helped destroy the notion that journalists are special and gifted humanoids, different somehow from mere mortals. At the same time, we haven’t been quite able to shake the perception that we’re little more than a collection of undateable geeks who’ve taken refuge in our parents’ basement and sit at our keyboards in our underwear. I’ve been at it for almost 12 years no; I’m a much better writer now than I was on 9.3.11, and I hope my powers of observation have improved as well. (And I’ve never, at least so far as I can recall, written in my underwear…and definitely NOT in my parents’ basement.)

As I’ve kept at it, more and more of mi compadres have fallen by the wayside. Let’s face reality, shall we? Unless you’re one of a select handful of bloggers, ain’t none of us making any money. Some of us may be well-rounded observers of the world around us, and we may be gifted writers…but that and a buck might get you a latte at my local Starbucks at the corner of NE 45th and Glisan here in Portland.

The latest tree to fall is Pam Spaulding and her Pam’s House Blend. Spaulding announced that her last post will be on Monday, 7.1.13 due to growing concerns over health issues, which prompts me to ask: if a blogger falls in the forest, does it even make a…oh, never mind….

Spaulding’s been at it for nine years, and over that time she’s become one of the strongest advocates for the LGBT community. Her voice has been consistent and persistent while simultaneously managing not to be strident. Some of what she’s advocated for has come to pass and much remains to be done. She can be proud of being an advocate for LGBT right and the LGBT community. She’s been in the middle of this generation’s civil rights struggle, and it’s beginning to seem as if we’re finally making progress.

I hope Spaulding will rest and recover; she deserves it. Well done, Pam.