A letter, a comment, The New York Times

Around nine years ago I wrote a fast letter to the New York Times ironically supporting a psychologist I would end up blogging with at Psychology Today It was the first letter I had ever written and actually sent–by email which makes everything easier. I forgot about it until later that day when I was in my brother-in-law’s car. I assume we were going to dinner at some truly good Long Island restaurant. I missed the phone call but began screaming when I heard the voice mail.

OK I easily impress myself. An editor wanted to know if it was alright to print it. No, I wrote it to fill up bandwidth 🙂 Several days later, very coincidentally, I was offered a reporting job, not for The Times.

Yesterday I was reading an article on NYTimes.com about Facebook and just had to comment. I knew it was too late to make “readers recommendations” and sent it off without editing or editing some more, In all five comments I have submitted in the past several years I only checked one and that made “readers recommendations.” For some reason I checked and it was an “editor’s pick.”

1177 Comments
NYT Pick
Dec. 13, 2011 at 4:54 p.m.

last week I was the object of derision on a Facebook group for people with an invisible disability. But without Facebook I would have never met so many people who share the same disability
For the first time in my over 50 years on this earth I’m learning to accept me for me thanks to Facebook
My family is closer than ever thanks to Facebook. I’m in touch with people from my entire life span. Seeing myself through their eyes was eye opening, humbling and wonderful.
A lot of people on Facebook are dedicated to being real. You just don’t have to tell what you had for lunch or who you had sex with when. Facebook is there for you to make your own experience with.

Damn I should have edited it. I should have edited it!
Yes I didn’t use my name nor did I link to a blog as many people do but….This means goods things are around the corner. The whole year has been great. Overwhelming but life affirming; filled with writing recognition and family old and new!!!

The sad but adorable irony wasn’t lost on me that I then went on Facebook and updated my status–even before calling my sister or best friend.

I will be back with a Chanukah post–The Miracle of the Ipad–an absolutely true story about how my Ipad might have saved my life. It’s more exciting than this post and never once mentions a newspaper. My sister called my Ipad story, “a sign from God.” She wasn’t sure about what!