This Here Rodeo

Two years ago today, the Sassistas! opened the gates to this here rodeo.  That's right, pardners!  Today is the Second Anniversary of the Sassosphere!

Since saddlin' up on March 5, 2008, the Sassistas! have published 677 posts and received 20,250+ comments . . . an average of nearly 30 comments per post.  YA-HOOOO!  And on Wednesday, we surpassed 220,400 lifetime views.  On our first anniversary, we had just surpassed 90,000 lifetime views. So our numbers are building.

But you know what?  We don't care about numbers.  We care about you.  We care about Westsista, who each month, posted knock-you-off-your-saddle "Meet the Sass" (12, count 'em, TWELVE posts) that challenged all of us.  Or half-a-sista, who posted about "Christian Jihad" (May 27, 2009) or about his travels to such exotic places like Precious Moments (Oct. 2), plus other provocative posts.  We care about Jerseysista, who posted about "Paella Mandela" on April 2 (the beginning of several posts in 2009).  We care about Carolyn, who posted about donating a kidney on June 3.  And we care about babysis, when we published her first post, "Monster Jam!" on February 25 of this year.

And that doesn't even begin to cover the comments.  The Sassistas! may open the gates, but the real heart of the sassosphere can be found after the gates open . . . in the corral of comments -- the most intelligent and hilarious comment feed to be found in all of the blogosphere.

So what have you learned about life and about yourself this year in -- and out -- of the sassosphere?  To make your thoughtfulness worthwhile, the Sassistas! will donate $10 for every comment today (up to $500) to IDignity -- an organization in Central Florida that provides ID cards -- birth certificates and Social Security Cards to the homeless that are crucial to helping them become self-sufficient.  Flannista had the honor of working with some of the rank-and-file of TRM's company who donate their time to this very worthwhile cause.  She plans to make the donation in their name.  So please tell us what you have learned over the past year.

What to say except we are very humbled and grateful, sistas and mistas, to be be entering our third year in the sassosphere.  We couldn't do it without you!  Thank you, and always remember this:  don't squat with your spurs on, though like Sassistas!, it can be surprisingly stimulating!

Love to all.

(P.S.  This is a special sass-out to the mista in Grand Rapids, Michigan, a very gifted artist that I've know now for more than 25 years, who faithfully reads Sassistas! every day and keeps threatening to join the sass feed.  Belly up, pardner!  You're welcome anytime.)

Comments

[Flannista]

I don't want to blow my sass wad all at once, so will be commenting throughout the day (remember, each comment is worth $10 to IDignity!), but I would say that the most valuable gift of the sassosphere to me has been my voice and feedback on how well I connect or don't connect with others. This is complex, to be sure, but off the cuff, I'd say that my voice has become more patient and authoritative -- with occasional wild swings toward self-pity on one end and flaming judgement on the other.

But this isn't therapy and this isn't about me. But it is about how the sassosphere has both affirmed me and called me on my bullshit.

Thank you.

[Flannista]

Any posts from the last year stick out for you?

The ones I highlighted in the post obviously stick out for me. And I loved looking back over the Sassistas! vacation to Cheyenne Frontier Days (thus the cowgirl theme of this anniversary post).

A post that I pulled together -- and more importantly, the ensuing sassfeed -- that had the most profound impact for me last year was "Lost Souls":

http://www.sassistas.com/sassistas_our_dish_on_the/2009/09/lost-souls.html

[Flannista]

The phrase, "stand as a lighthouse," comes to me during the day more than I realize. It just pops up.

Thanks, Westsista.

[Flannista]

PEACEsista contributed a post called "Hunger" last winter, plus several haiku. Here is one she posted in our September 18 comment feed:

*****
Outside my window this morning:

cerulean sky
over green cottonwood tree
fading to yellow
*****

Beautiful. Thank you, PEACE!

[Flannista]

This past year, the Sassistas! introduced, "Rant On, Matissta!"

Matiss posted three blistering and hilarious rants. We need more in the next year, no?

[Flannista]

Jerseysista certainly had a profound year.

Tell us how the sassosphere influenced it, Jerse.

[half-a-sista]

I learned about Snuggies, Ultra-Soft Charmin, Monster Jam Truck Rallies, Alexander McQueen shoes (may he rest in peace), and so many other odd and fascinating things.

I've learned more about the blog side of sistas and mistas and wonder what these people are like in person. Would I like them? Would they like me?

I've learned how much this electronic communication does not substitute for phone calls or face-to-face visits. It's good if that's all I have available.

I've learned so much I could probably raise all $500 if I really thought about it.

[Flannista]

Thank you, half-a, for thinking about it . . . and think more about it. Keep posting and let's raise some money for IDignity.

We butted heads and hearts and learned more about each other last June 11th in our post about hate groups called, "Enough is Enough":

http://www.sassistas.com/sassistas_our_dish_on_the/2009/06/enough-is-enough.html

Both of us really hung in there with love despite the ferocity of our different opinions. Thank you.

[half-a-sista]

I started to look through the posts for 2009 and stopped at the Debra Spencer post about her poem, The Arraignment". I contacted her and she was kind enough to write back and "explain" her poem. That was fun.

There were lots of posts about Barack Obama and the hope that everyone felt coming out of the dark, recessive (oops, meant "repressive") years of the prior administration.

When I have more time I will look through the rest of the posts for 2009.

[Flannista]

The most comments we have ever received for a post is 119 -- and we had 119 comments each for two posts that could not be more different:

Hotel door knob signs:
http://www.sassistas.com/sassistas_our_dish_on_the/2009/05/do-not-disturb.html

And, learning to love:
http://www.sassistas.com/sassistas_our_dish_on_the/2010/01/learning-to-love.html

[babysis]

Congrats on the milestone Sassistas! and keep up the great work. I've learned that I need a little Sassistas! each day, even if I don't have time to comment.

In life, I learned this year that it's sometimes worthwhile to upset the apple cart, make waves, buck the system, or call people on their BS. I haven't decided which metaphor I like best though. I learned that fear can be faced and love can prevail, even as life is both painful and wonderful.

Here in the sassosphere, I too have learned that it's much harder to communicate well without face time, but the challenge can have satisfying and hilarious rewards. I've learned that I don't know much about current events, and am not a good student of today's culture.

Thanks for donating to a good cause. I'll try to check in again later. Dog sitting this weekend and off to a son's play at noon today.

[PEACEsista]

Thanks, Sassistas! for taking us all on a journey with you the past two years, traveling the full distance from the ridiculous to the sublime. Congratulations on another year and Happy Birthday! Of course, you would celebrate with a gift that keeps on giving ... thanks for that, too.

The first thing that comes to my mind is how much I've enjoyed all the beautiful poetry you've posted over the past two years and especially I am remembering the Mary Oliver poem "Heron Rises from the Dark Summer Pond" (or something close to that title.) I printed that one out and have shared it with many others. I greatly appreciate the beauty you've shared.

[Flannista]

I kinda think that it is ALWAYS worthwhile "to upset the apple cart, make waves, buck the system, or call people on their BS," babysis. You've certainly and consistently with as much compassion you could hang onto, called me on my BS. Sometimes it has really pissed me off, but always it has made me stop and think.

Love does prevail. Thank you.

[Flannista]

Thank you, PEACEsista! You embody poetry here in the sassosphere, and we love you dearly for it. Also, Matiss and I had one of the best vacations ever with you and noway this past summer.

Here is post you were referring to in your comment:

http://www.sassistas.com/sassistas_our_dish_on_the/2009/07/wonderful-summer.html

I can't stop reading poetry, so know that more will be posted in the upcoming year.

[Flannista]

Here is PEACEsista's comment to the above Mary Oliver poem when we posted it last July:

*****
This poem is so poignant and perfect for me to read right now ... and the picture, too. A great blue heron lives on the little lake in northern Wisconsin. One blessing of summer is to see it, either flying or standing perfectly still, camouflaged, at the shoreline. This year I did not see it, until one day, I looked out the window of the house, and there it was standing on the cement path by the dock, looking out, as if to decide whether to take a boat or fly this time. It lifted and flew.

But the poignant part of the poem for me today is this:

Then, not for the first or the last time,
I take the deep breath
of happiness, and I think
how unlikely it is

that death is a hole in the ground,
how improbable
that ascension is not possible,

Last Tuesday, my dear friend's daughter-in-law (a mother of grade school age children) died suddenly when a large blood clot blocked her heart valve. Her physical end was swift. My friend arrived home last night after the small family memorial. She tells me that she is sure of life after death. Stronger in her faith now for having touched it. I'll give her this poem.

Today I am leading a Buddhist meditation group. We have a discussion as part of our practice. I will offer this poem as an opportunity to discuss the gifts of summer and/or the Buddhist teachings on transcending birth and death.

Thanks Sistas for the gift.
*****

Thank YOU, PEACE.

[PEACEsista]

Pablo Neruda wrote:

"On earth, before writing was invented, before the printing press was invented, poetry flourished. That is why we know that poetry is like bread; it should be shared by all, by scholars and by peasants, by all our vast, incredible, extraordinary family of humanity."

Thanks, Sassistas! for extending Neruda's vision into the digital age.

[Flannista]

Three words from the past year in the sassosphere:

BIG SEXY HAIR

[Flannista]

Matissta doesn't get near enough credit for all her work behind the scenes. Remember how she photoshopped the bottom photo in this post?:

http://www.sassistas.com/sassistas_our_dish_on_the/2009/07/we-the-peeple.html

[Jerseysista]

The past year has certainly been profound for me, as you surmised, Flann. Thinking back, it has been more like two.

Almost two years ago, a little after Sassistas! came out of the chute, I called Flann to see if she wanted to meet and catch up. It had probably been 3-5 years since we had last talked. There was much about the relationship I was in at the time that explained that long period of little communication so I think my reaching out at that time was the beginning of a beginning of a change. It happened that Sassistatas! had just recently donned their chaps and spurs, giving me a welcoming place to express myself and meet new friends.

I found a community I had been much needing. It brought me around to possibilities that came to bloom in the Spring of this past year. By that time, Flann and I were communicating regularly and I was contributing to the blog. Flann noticed when I posted Paella Mandala that my partner was noticeably absent from the dinner table and called to see what was up.

Much was up. In the time since (less than a year), I have left that relationship, moved to Maryland, met knew friends, got reacquainted with old friends and, in a way that is hard to put my finger on, have transformed in some fundamental way. I have not just removed myself from an old life, I have become a person I never was before.

[Jerseysista]

I want to thank Sassistas!, as PEACE did, for making poetry a regular part of the blog.

I have been looking through the archives. The earliest posts that found myself remembering appreciatively were "Confessions of an Obese Woman" and "Man Lying Like a Rag".

[Flannista]

Jerseysista's very first comment in the sassosphere on June 11, 2008, in response to our post, "The Man Lying Like a Rag," -- about a man who was hit by a car and several passersby on foot and in cars did not stop to offer help:

*****
The moral compass is a finicky thing. At times it can be steady and dead on. At other times it can swing crazily around the dial, twitching at one point and then another. Simple presentations in stark black and white can produce strong, stable readings. Is it wrong to treat a human life as a trashed rag? Yes. Are we aghast at outright disregard of human suffering? Yes.

But what happens when the presentation is not black and white or where the picture flashes by? What if what appears in black and white on a newspaper page was something else at the scene? Many years ago I experienced an incident so similar to what the onlookers encountered on the Park Street in Hartford, Connecticut. I had forgotten the incident until I read your post.

I was riding up front with the driver of a church bus. We were travelling by interstate, at interstate speeds, from Pennsylvania to the Rockies for a backpacking trip. Cars ahead in an adjacent lane were swerving to avoid something. But, due to traffic in the other lanes, not all cars had the option to swerve. A couple of cars not far ahead of us did not have that option.

I saw one car run over an object in the road. A large object. Was it a roll of carpet?

Then another car hit it. What was that? Not a deer.

Then the last of the cars ahead of us in that adjacent lane hit the object. This time the view was unobstructed but so quick. So quick. Could it be what it looked like? Could it have been a human body? If so, the clothes had been torn off. If not, what else could it have been? But, it was gone. We had passed it.

“Did you see that? Was that a person?” I asked the driver. “What? No. What did you see? There was just something on the road,” he said. “No. I’m sure. I think. . . . It rolled. What else could it have been?” I said.

But no one else was stopping. Were they all having the same internal conversation I was? Were they all just rolling along as we were as they mulled it over? There wasn’t enough for the moral compass to land “dead on”. Each minute and each mile further left less of pull from the lode stone. The compass needle spun wildly and then less so until it just drifted.

But, now, with your post, the needle is twitching again. Threatening to settle on a reading that condemns me.
*****

Man, you came into the sass in a BIG way.

[Flannista]

"I have not just removed myself from an old life, I have become a person I never was before."

Jersey -- I couldn't have said it better myself. babysis, or maybe Carolyn, or perhaps both, and I have talked about how your comments and posts have become more warm and tender over the past year, in addition to being consistently incisive and brilliant.

Remember how we used to call you Dr. Jersey because your tone was more often earnest and sometimes a bit obtuse? I haven't called you Dr. Jersey for a very long time, and probably won't again.

[Matissta]

Wow, what did I learn this year?

Flann continues to amaze me. She has always been and continues to be a "learning sponge." If she reads or hears of something that interests her, she investigates further. For example, the Dickman twins. It began with the reading of a single poem in the New Yorker. In http://www.sassistas.com/sassistas_our_dish_on_the/2009/04/a-tale-of-twin-poets.html , she shares her discovery with the rest of us.

Her love of writing and reading is obvious, but she also pulls us in by sharing her latest favorite read, Mary Karr's Lit, http://www.sassistas.com/sassistas_our_dish_on_the/2009/11/write-and-die.html , or simply give us an assignment to show that we can all write, as in Write On!, http://www.sassistas.com/sassistas_our_dish_on_the/2009/10/write-on.html .

The girl also loves a good meal, but O Opla Tilapia, http://www.sassistas.com/sassistas_our_dish_on_the/2009/10/o-opla-tilapia.html wasn't one of them, but the meal at the Mini Bar, http://www.sassistas.com/sassistas_our_dish_on_the/2009/04/one-bite.html , was.

And the poetry. There will definitely be more poetry. After all, Flann has more than 800 books on the subject alone.

Thanks Flann for introducing us to some wonderful literature, wit, and life.

[Chrysosistah]

I've been fighting with my work computers all day today and am no where near being done. Afraid I need to go get a new computer (bleah). Because of this, I haven't been online much, but wanted to take a break and see what Sassistas! was up to. What can I say? THAT'S how much it means to me, I miss it if I don't check in.

Happy Birthday, Sassistas! The Sassosphere is a wonderful place, and I'm definitely more whole for having known it. And to the mista in Grand Rapids? Jump in, the water's fine! ;-)

I'm sorry I didn't check in earlier, but I definitely will later once I toss in the work towel. Much love to all...

[Chrysosistah]

Just heard this song, really reminded me of Sassistas!

Walkin' like a one man army
Fightin' with the shadows in your head
Livin' up the same old moment
Knowin' you'd be better off instead
If you could only...

Say what you need to say
Say what you need to say
Say what you need to say
Say what you need to say

Have no fear for givin' in
Have no fear for givin' over
You better know that in the end
It's better to say too much
Than to never to say what you need to say again

Even if your hands are shakin'
And your faith is broken
Even as the eyes are closin'
Do it with a heart wide open
A wide heart

Say what you need to say
Say what you need to say
Say what you need to say
Say what you need to say...