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Saturday, October 1, 2011

Google Me

To the annoyance of my friends and family, I have avoided social networking venues like Facebook and Twitter. Frankly, I have always valued my privacy. If someone wanted to find me, let them do a little work. I was keeping myself to myself.
Until now.
My debut in this blog is calculated, because I know there is safety in numbers. Too, my blogging companions flex some writing muscle. Investigating other blogs also got me wondering what might already be “out there” about me. So, I did what any modern woman would do:
I googled myself.
I googled myself in a number of ways and found few surprises: professional affiliations, my business information, some articles. I learned there are 962 Mary Foxes in the world. But an unexpected gift was the only photo I found of myself. It is the one I’ve selected to appear with my blog.
In my life, I have had my share of high hopes and desperate disappointments. But when I suddenly encountered myself as I had been exposed on the web in this photo, I embraced the embodiment of my core beliefs, captured in this candid snapshot. And the laugh is on me: despite my best attempts at privacy, I have no idea who took this photo or how it got on the web.
Seeing myself so exuberantly exposed also telescoped me back to another illuminating moment of my life.
It was Spring 1978. My last semester at LaSalle. In one of those pop psych courses so popular with seniors who need three more credits to graduate, we were given an assignment: write your own epitaph
My life was pretty rocky then. I was graduating with my last breath of effort, determined not to lose everything despite some dire outside circumstances. I was also 21 and full of hope.
Now, at 55, looking at this photograph and recalling that epitaph, I realize how true those old words were and how far they did, and could still, take me.
To introduce you to my blog, I give you:
My Epitaph
There once was a woman named Mary
Whose adventures were just a bit scary
But through all she tried
Till the day that she died
And life was fun: wasn’t it, Mary?

3 comments:

  1. Welcome to the blogosphere, Mary! Looks good. I'll follow your blog if you follow mine! :-)

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  2. I love your epitaph Mary! And I hope that your life is fun! In the words of a couple of wise men, "Follow your bliss!" (Joseph Campbell) and "Don't Worry, Be Happy!!" (Bobby McFerrin). Have fun with your blog and enjoy your life!

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  3. Mary, I want o hear about the scary adventures. How did you manage through the dire circumstances in your 20s to be the woman you are today? What makes life fun? See you on the blog.

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