Why I Joined WDC

Why I Joined Writing.com

         It was 2010 and my usual online routine was to play games on Pogo.com. I was a bit of a flirt, but only with a couple of women. I was writing poems and stories even back then, and shared them with several friends of mine on Pogo. One of my Pogo friends sent me a note telling me that the things I wrote should be seen by more people that those I shared with on Pogo, and sent me a link to Writing.com. That friend was lynnlaurel, a member who is not very active here. I took the chance and dropped in, and have never left, despite being less active than I have in the past.

         I joined on June 16, 2010, and told a good friend of mine about being here. Her and I have been friends since the early 2000’s, having met on Pogo also. Amay (Katrina) is her name, she joined the site the next day. She’s the one who taught me a lot early on. She recommended I check out "Anniversary Reviews" , I became very involved in it, usually sending 20 or more reviews a month.

I recall that in my early days on WDC, Carol St.Ann provided me feedback and guidance on how to navigate around the site. She became a good friend, we managed to meet in October 2015 as I was driving from Chantilly, Virginia to Toronto Canada.

         I met NaNoNette in July 2012 while in Los Angeles on business. Other than Amay , Annette was the first WDC member I met. We have met a few times, I loved meeting her sons and talking to them about what they wanted to do once they were out of school. I’ve been to Los Angeles over a dozen times on business, and on another occasion, we met for lunch, and Jeff joined us. That was a very pleasurable meeting really. We sat and talked for what seemed like hours.

         Having sent so many Anniversary Reviews those early years, Annette asked if she could transfer the forum to me so she could devote more time to her family. I was very happy to take it over, but she really didn’t need to transfer it to me, I would have run it either way. I ended up owning the forum for 12 years before transferring it back to her last year. I love that forum, but lacked the ability to improve its appearance, and failed to promote it the way it should have been.

         I made several good friend while owning "Anniversary Reviews" , with several members sending over 30 Anniversary Reviews a month! Those members were Angus , Yellow Rose , and Lisa Noe . I remember an amazing month where the three of them sent over 100 Anniversary Reviews! While I haven’t met Angus or Lisa Noe , I did meet Yellow Rose . She seemed to be a very private person, someone who rarely talked about herself, and never mentioned where she lived. I don’t recall exactly what happened, but I mentioned that I would be in Spokane Washington on business, and she was almost ecstatic. It turned out that she lived there and was anxious to meet. We did meet of course. I have never met someone who was so full of love. In my humble opinion, she was the closest thing to an Angel I’ve met. Sadly, she left God’s Green Earth on September 24, 2015.

         I think it was December 2019 that I met 🌕 HuntersMoon and Robert Waltz while on a trip to Westmoreland County Virginia. We met for dinner, and Ken brought his wife Rosemary with him. She’s a member here on WDC also. Robert Waltz and I met again over Labor Day weekend two years ago when I decided I needed to get a bottle of Hyman Rickover Bourbon in Virginia. It had been distilled by a small distillery in Hampton Roads, and I just had to have one. Why? Because Admiral Hyman G. Rickover is the father of the nuclear navy, and since I spent 20 years in the Submarine Service as a Nuclear Trained Technician, it seemed to be something I should have. I still haven’t opened that bottle either.

         I was very lucky on one occasion, and managed to meet Schnujo's Doing NaNoWriMo? , QueenOwl ~ A New Day Dawns , and NaNoNette . It was April 2022, and once again I was in Los Angeles on business. This was a busy time for me, I was in Los Angeles one week, and Ft. Lauderdale the following week. As such, I had a Saturday flight to Ft. Lauderdale, late enough in the morning that I could meet everyone for breakfast.

         I think the last two WDC members I met were Write_Mikey_Write! & 🌻 thankful pwheeler . I happened to be in their areas, so we met. Sadly, I could not get a photo of Phyllis who is a beautiful woman. Her and her husband have a policy against photo’s, I honored that policy. However, I met Mike for dinner and had a great time.

         My closest WDC friends are Amay whom I’ve known for about 20 years now. She will be a close friend the rest of my life. Others include some I’ve met, and some I haven’t. Everyone I’ve met are good friends of mine, the ones I haven’t met but consider good friends include ruwth , Angus , and LMs❤️BrewinMagic . I’m not sure why I feel so close to people I haven’t met, but I do.

         Writing.com has changed my life in several ways. First and foremost, it’s made me a better writer. How did a website do this? Well, it wasn’t really WDC, it is the people here who have influenced me. The reviews I’ve sent and received have served to improve my writing skills.

         Let me explain something here. I don’t consider myself a serious writer, one who looks to be published. Why? Because I’m not what I call a trained writer. I had a year of Creative Writing in high school, that’s the limit of my writing education. I’ve never read the Masters of Poetry, my interests were in the Science Fiction genre at first. Later I branched out some and read other genres. When I retired from the Navy in 1993, I’d read all but about 7 or 8 Stephen King books. It’s his writing that inspires me, though I am no where near as prolific as he, plus I can’t seem to write a good horror story no matter how hard I try. Other inspirations are the world around me, and life experiences. That’s about it for me. I joined, started writing far more than I had, my writing improved, but now I can’t seem to get much writing done. One day that will change, when I retire most likely. I’ve been here almost 14 years, I hope to spend at least 14 more here. We’ll see.

Jim Dorrell
2/22/2024

1109 Words