I love this blog. It is a wonderful outlet for me to say and do whatever I want to, yes, and I like writing here, which is a necessary ingredient for blogging, and that is what started my writing here (that and Sinclair’s nudging.) But it’s not really writing here that makes this space interesting to me anymore. I mean, interesting things happen to me now and then and I do like to share them, but more than anything it’s all of the amazing random connections that could not have ever been made in any other way in all of the world and in all of my lifetime that HAVE been made because of this space. THAT is what makes me continue to show up here. THAT is what I love about this little blogo’mine.

When I got emails from folks saying, “jesse! Did you hear about Blanche (or Dorothy or Sophia)?!? I’m so sorry!” I mean WOW! No, I hadn’t heard yet and oh my lord, thanks for thinking of me and for taking the time to let me know. Or when folks ask for updates on Marcus or Fraidy or Violet or the Seal. Or all of the wonderful emails and comments about my visiting the new GSA club at my old haunted high school posts, one email about how you are going to write one of your high school teachers and thank them for supporting your little closeted lesbian self after all these years. Or a heads up that Cher is in a new movie or video or that she brushed her teeth this morning. Or how if I didn’t hear from Blazer in some tweet or comment form for more than a few days I would start to worry. Or how someone wrote, “I’m not your gay googler, but I might as well have been a few years back. Where was that hot line then?” Or how one of my very favorite new friends, greg, will put me on email-chatting-hold so to finish her newest, fabulous post. Or that I am so lucky to have met a slew of amazing bloggers last fall with plans to meet a few more this weekend. Or how Jen leaves a comment, “this has nothing to do with your post or whatever it is that you are writing about but Kathy Griffin spent her birthday with CHER and I thought of you!” And I am a better, happier person to know this, let me tell you.

And on and on it goes. And really, is this not all just totally amazing? And with all of the ways that this let’s me reach back and is teaching me, daring me, challenging me to brave reaching out more, a little bit at a time, past where I sit so comfortably (and anonymously) behind this screen, and push myself in what I chose to write, in how revealing I am, in how much of me, what about me I’ll set free and hand over, well, it all just blows my mind a little.

On that same long-winded-as-usual note, Melissa, someone I have never met before, tweeted this video to me and damn if she didn’t find something Cher that I had never seen before. And to that I say, well done and thanks for reaching out.

Happy Friday eve, everyone! Happy Cherday.