[56 1/2 Main Street: 17] From June 24th and June 25th - Final Stern Thoughts
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56 1/2 Main Street ยป 56 1/2 Main Street: 17 From June 24th and June 25th - Final Stern Thoughts

A Picture of a Camel is Worth a Thousand Words

Ok, so Richard has another sister, Louise. I struggle to find the words to describe her. I know I wouldn't like her. With Lisa's upcoming wedding, Louise wants to have "some work" done. Richard assumes she wants her house remodeled or something like that. The "work" is plastic surgery. Richard tries to ward off her need to discuss this with him. She wants a "boob job" and, well, she wants something done about her camel toe. The visual I had after her description of the problem areas detached my retinas. TMI - definitely TMI. Yuck. (I posted a comment following this blog post. I said something to the effect that the visual Richard's words gave me have my retinas detached. I also sympathized with Richard and said that it is because of incidents like this that we have therapists. Davis/Richard replied to my comment. He is now, strangely enough, dreaming of snails!)

At this point, I know that Richard has a brother named, Frank, and two sisters, Louise and Lisa. They are all nuts, (mixed nuts), harmless, but nuts. Richard has a dog named Prometheus, and of course the dog is nuts as well. At this point, I have no idea what breed of dog or how big Prometheus is. That works. I don't want to know the details. It makes Prometheus a mystery, and sort of a mythical figure. He has at least two sets of neighbors. One set doesn't have much to do with him because of his inability to keep a secret. The others haven't shown up much in the blogs I have read.

(I was curious as to the situation with the neighbors and the secret. Apparently, Richard was sworn to secrecy when Sophia told him about the situation with the neighbors. Apparently, the husband was caught by his wife as he pranced around their home wearing only her lingerie. It had been going on for quite some time. Richard was confused as to which set of neighbors had the cross-dressing issue, and as he exchanged gossip with one of the wives, he told her the dirt on the guy in the neighborhood who liked wearing his wife's undies. Unfortunately, he was talking to that wife of the pretty-in-pink husband. Smooth move).

The posts provide a glimpse into Richard's life and into his mind. As Rettberg describes, each post stands alone and can be read as such. They also create a longer story and a hilarious story about this poor shlep, Richard, harmless but nuts. As I read about each member of Richard's family, I look forward to hearing about the upcoming wedding. I see that this is a story I do not want to see end.

Holy Mary, Full of Grace, Among Other Things

In this final post, Richard adds some additional details of his life. His inlaws are Sicilians, devout Catholics, and their name is Gambino. The nimrod married a Gambino! Unfortunately, his inlaws who lived in Jersey have just moved only several houses from his and Sophia's home in Georgia.

Although Richard vowed to never live near his inlaws, he decides to put his best foot forward as he and Prometheus walk down to welcome the Gambino parents. He describes Prometheus as a "jumped-up rodent," and later in the story, we learn that Prometheus is a small dog. So, he's no longer that mystery/myth. He is still a legend. Richard believes that Prometheus' cuteness will loosen up the inlaws, and that can only spell disaster.

When he arrives, Richard notices the statue of the Virgin Mary and her apse in a prominent place on the front porch. His description of the the stern Holy Mary and his imagined suspicion she has always directed towards him as well as the other "reliquaries" present paint a pretty oppressive picture. The statue of the Holy Mother is Mrs. Gambino's most valued possession. She is somewhere past the point of devout.

The situation ends up being as bad as it could. Maria Gambino opens the door and Richard tries his best to welcome her. It isn't until he introduces Prometheus that both he and his mother-in-law notice the pup raising his leg to bless the Mother of Christ with something other than holy water. I predict a mob-hit.


Concluding thoughts

Rettberg writes about the community created by bloggers. The links between blogs give evidence of this, and often the links go both ways. Davis' blog has links to other humorous blogs, and the bloggers writing those blogs have links leading back to Stern Thoughts. The connection between blogs is also apparent in other social media venues. Davis has links allowing readers to follow him on both Facebook and Twitter. As stated earlier, the links and the 'community' between bloggers also appear on Twitter.

I believe Garner Davis, the author of Stern Thoughts, is writing to build a following of readers, to establish connections with other comedians, authors, and bloggers, and to advance his career. His posts, written as Richard, are entertaining. They are also different material than his book, "Oh No Richard!".

Rettberg describes how blog entries can stand alone, and this is evident in Stern Thoughts. Without any knowledge of the history of the characters, each post was still entertaining and self-contained. Each offers a glimpse into the life and mind of the protagonist, Richard Stern, and the reader is drawn into the world Davis creates. The posts, when taken together, create a longer, ongoing story.

I can see how the style of writing for this type of blog is much different than that used to create something like a novel. The posts are not merely a series of chapters from a book. If the posts were chapters, I believe the reader could easily be lost without the history and backstory necessary in a novel. Here, those details would perhaps make the 'story' more complete. However, this isn't necessary to enjoy Davis' work. In fact, I find myself looking forward to the questions I have about each character in the bits and pieces of details Richard shares.

I did not believe that I would see any value in a story that does not end. I did not look forward to reading about the details and struggles of another's life. This blog, Stern Thoughts, and the unfolding saga of the struggles of Richard, is a story I do not wish to see end. Since it is a relatively new blog and the posts I read are only eleven through sixteen, I am planning on going back to read the first posts and to then continue following Richard's limp through life. In fact, I already have.

Another plus. I have used Twitter throughout this WaW course, and I have almost never received a message, and I have never received a reply to a tweet. As far as 'community' goes, I remain cynical. I think it's boola. I began following Davis on Twitter. I then saw that Davis was following me on Twitter. I tweeted about this, and I got a reply! He was honored to have me as a reader. Perhaps that's no big deal. It is, however, the first taste I have had of the 'social' part of this social media. It's a start…

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