Saturday, March 31, 2012

A Singular Line

I love little touches like this mailbox. It's handmade, there's no other mailbox like it. I don't know if postal workers like them but I should think they would, if only as a change of pace.

It's hard to be singular. The playwright Lorraine Hansberry said, "The thing that makes you exceptional, if you are at all, is inevitably that which must also make you lonely." I don't know if that's true. I think you can be exceptional and still be happy among other people. 

I also think there's a line. Call it the singular line. Some people have the choice to either cross or not cross it. They can choose to be so exceptional, so unusual it makes them lonely, or they can choose to be part of a group. Perhaps that requires compromising one's gifts. I don't know if that's the case, and I don't know which is better. That's where the choice comes in.


Tomorrow's theme day is "Cobblestones." Because City Daily Photo's website was hacked and is not yet ready for theme day, Julie of Sydney Eye put up a special site for checking in to the theme. The Australian blogs have already posted and I'm posting a tad early to make my post work on the temporary site. 

Many thanks, Julie!

31 comments:

Dina said...

Are you really going to cross the line, and make the change, and migrate to Wordpress?! Good on ya, Petrea!
May you, and we, never see Blogger error messages again.

Waiting anxiously to hear how it went. Good luck!

Shell Sherree said...

I love this, Petrea. Mine is handmade, too, though with someone else's hands. I like to hope the posties get a little kick from using something a tad quirkier than the norm.

Kalei's Best Friend said...

I did an art journal page awhile back with the words 'walk the line'.... I think every so often we need to try something new- it cures the curiosity of 'what if'... stepping out of the boundaries is fine as long as you weigh pros and cons...some folks don't and just dive in .. I've seen it and they too see the mistakes they could of avoided but some don't learn from it...

Latino Heritage said...

What an eye! The mailbox is such a lot of work for so little space.

BaysideLife said...

I would hate to think that a person's uniqueness would seperate them from others. I know I celebrate the specialness of some of my friends. And sometimes lend a shoulder and hold a hand. It ain't easy being green.

Carla Hurst-Chandler said...

I think we should celebrate our individuality...and embrace others for their own! Unique friends are the most interesting kind :)

Petrea Burchard said...

I wasn't actually thinking of me! I'm too social to cross that many lines. But I think I'll make the move. I spent yesterday reading about the pros and cons. I'm a little chicken, but yeah. I think I'll do it.

Petrea Burchard said...

I like to think they do, too. I certainly like seeing it.

Petrea Burchard said...

Forging ahead without thinking of consequences is the hallmark of many an artist. Being overly cautious can stymie an entire life. There's a middle ground, I think, as you say--weighing the pros and cons. Yet I do believe sometimes we can't know everything and we just have to dive in.

Petrea Burchard said...

Well worth it, if it makes the owner happy. And the postal worker. (I like Shell's "postie" better--they use that in Canada, too, I think.)
Today it made me happy, and perhaps a few readers, too, so this baby paid back.

Petrea Burchard said...

I'm with you, Bayside. I can think of some people who are so different from me, though, that I find them hard to approach. I bet we can all think of those people. I hope they have a circle of loving friends around them because you're right, it ain't easy being green.

Petrea Burchard said...

Hi Carla, welcome! You are so right!

Laura M said...

I always wanted to be eccentric, but never had the courage. Sometimes that makes me sad.

Kalei's Best Friend said...

I totally agree with you... At least w/the pros and cons the so called big errors can be eliminated or recognized the little ones don';t matter as much.

Petrea Burchard said...

Laura, I know just what you mean. I wanted it, too, but it's not who we are, I guess. It would be sadder to pretend to be who we aren't.

Bellis said...

I love that original, old-fashioned mailbox! If I could find one like it at the Rose Bowl flea market, I'd get it. My white standard approved one is so boring.

Laura M said...

Thanks, Petrea, that makes me feel better!

Petrea Burchard said...

Me, too. Mine's just plain ugly!

Ms M said...

Cool mailbox! And I like the way you framed the pic, with all the different lines, some converging, some not. Seems like we all face lines and decisions -- whether to cross, or not cross -- at various times in life.
BTW, I have not had any problems commenting on Blogger lately. But I do notice that it's not as easy to comment on Blogger blogs as it used to be. The "sign in" process takes longer than it used to. (I don't stay logged in to Google unless I'm looking at blogs. When I'm done with blogs, I sign off. And because they want to track people's web surfing habits, I think they are trying to push people into being "signed in" all the time. I wonder if that's causing the problems of commenting?)

postie said...

Petrea. I like it . As long as the opening is big enough and no sharp edges, posties will like.

Katie said...

I have a tiny apartment building mailbox so I'm envious of this spacious and interesting one. Hope they get lots of cool mail. Not sure what I think about Hansberry's quote, but your singular line theory is a good way to look at it.

Petrea Burchard said...

Do you remember a while back, Ms. M, when Blogger tried to get us all to change to some new formats? I haven't seen anyone take them up on it. I guess nobody wanted the new stuff. But ever since then, the commenting hasn't been as versatile as it used to be. Have you noticed that on some blogs you can't subscribe to comments? That's new, and it really bugs me. I want to know if people respond to what I say, and I follow too many blogs to remember where to check back.
Switching platforms isn't going to change that for me, but I hope it'll at least change it for my readers. If/when I ever get it done. Argh.

Petrea Burchard said...

Oh Postie! You must have known I was thinking of you!

Petrea Burchard said...

I'm not sure I agree with her, Katie, but it's food for thought.

Margaret said...

What do you mean you were hacked? I'm a bit behind. Must investigate.

Ms M said...

Yes, I do remember that. They changed the interface where you post. And they also encouraged people to change to a newer template. And I think the newer templates don't offer the same options for easy commenting and for subscribing to blogs. There used to be a box where you could click to be notified via email when others posted comments. I think that's gone, too. Too many "improvements", on the part of Blogger/Google!

Petrea Burchard said...

I just saw it on my dashboard today: "Blogger is getting a new look in April" and the button you can choose to "upgrade now." I wonder if that will make things better, or worse?--if I should wait to make the WordPress move or not? Argh!

Ms M said...

Oh no, another "new look"?? Wonder what "improvements" this will bring? I haven't seen that notification yet on my dashboard, but I'm sure I will soon, especially since it is now April.

Petrea Burchard said...

I know. A message like that shows up and I cringe...

TheChieftess said...

I've been curious about Wordpress too...but for now I'm sticking with blogger and the old template...maybe the April changes will accomodate our concerns!!!

Petrea Burchard said...

I'm hoping that's the case and I won't have to move. Perhaps my threats scared Blogger into fixing things. Yeah, that's it!