Cathy C. Hall Writes

Yeah, that’s me with a ‘stache-on-a-stick.

I woke this morning with no idea what the Friday’s Fun Find would be–or if there would be one. But then serendipity struck as it so often does when I’m not looking, and I happened on to a post called, “And In This Corner…Fear.”

It’s from the blog, The Art of Manliness, and yes, on the post, you will see a couple boxers, but no, it’s not really about boxing as much as it is facing fear, particularly the fears that pound writers, day in and day out. Truly, David Levien wrote so well and so engagingly and so profoundly that I feel like I must read one of his books right. this. minute.

That’s how good it is. So if you are ever asked to write a guest post, consider that it’s your chance to meet new readers and put your best foot forward. Also, you might want to take a few minutes and peruse all the gems over there on the AoM.

And, yes, I know the vast majority of my blog readers are of the female variety but there are an awful lot of fine words over there that I think women would appreciate as well. I especially appreciated the last line from the About page:

Ultimately, the Art of Manliness aims to encourage our readers to be better husbands, fathers, brothers, citizens — a new generation of great men.

Honestly, I am all for that, aren’t you?

So…I just took a quick walk around the Ecological Footprint Calculator and my goodness, what big (ecological) feet I have!

It’s an embarrassment of riches we have here, in the United States, and I’m afraid I haven’t been as good a steward of those riches as I should have. But it’s never too late to change, and I can work on reducing my ecological footprint. For one thing, I can improve on my recycling efforts.

It’s funny, because I’m very good at recycling my words. If an essay doesn’t work for the market I first submitted to, I try, try again to find a home for it. I may have to tweak the words a bit, but happily, I often find another market. I like the publication credit, of course, but I like not wasting my efforts even more.

So on this sunny Earth Day, I challenge you to recycle. Shake off the cyber dust from one of your essays, give it a spiffy shine, and submit it to a new market. And while you’re at it, get that plastic container out of the trash and into your recycling bin.

Now, see? You and the Earth feel better already. (And good luck!)