It's A Gusher

I am, simply put, a gusher.

Not a gusher as in a "flesh wound." Not a gusher as in "dammit, my water broke . . . I'm gonna have this baby NOW!"

Not a gusher like an oil well or a volcano.

I'm a gusher in terms of praise. And I've finally learned to accept it. My writer friend, Justin Crouse (go to his site, read his work, you will be charmed and changed), mentioned it to me just last week, after I scribbled out a reaction to one of his short stories.

Cate, he said, you can stop with the gushing.

I snapped back: I'm a gusher. Take it or leave it.

It's true. If I visit your blog or you show me something pretty, most likely, you will receive any of the following comments from me:

-I loved this
-love, love, love this
-I adore this
-brilliant
-resounds with me
-resonates with me
-marvelous
-amazing
-incredible
-you are generous
-you are talented
-you are fabulous
-spot on (Thanks, BB, for calling me out on that one. 'Preciate it.)

Oh, and then there's my old favorite stand-by: "wonderful"

My dull, overused (dare I say "trite") synonyms are not, at a deeper level, a commentary on your work. I mean, they are in that I struggle to use them to express my admiration, but "wonderful?" You and I both know how watered down that guy is.

Yes, my dull, overused synonyms are a commentary on me--that I cannot think on my toes (see, I'm reverting back to cliches), I am so overwhelmed by the post that I have just seen or read that I feel grossly inadequate, I am intimidated by you because I think you are much cooler than I am and will laugh at what I write in reaction.

Now, I'm not saying that I don't have good days. Sometimes, the planets are aligned, my hormones are balanced, and the house is quiet. Sometimes, I am able to formulate an inventive response to a post, something that fits the magic that I have just read. Sometimes, words hurl themselves at me like sharp spitballs: kicky, bittersweet, poignant, lucid, ethereal (love that one), haunting, jazzy. Sometimes, I've gotta consult the doctor: thesaurus.com

Most days, however, I revert to the stand-by list because that's my initial translation from what my mind is telling me. My mind shouts: Damn, this is good. This person is so talented and I'm thrilled that they are out there, pounding the keys and sharing their ideas and imagination, via words, with the rest of us. I would never have thought to put this word with that, but look at how it works, check out the emotion that oozes from the screen. I wonder what inspired her to write that? I wonder what her life is like and if she writes poetry in her head when she scrubs out the bathroom sink? And look at that picture, how does she do it? Such innocence. It reminds me of my granny's house and the blackberry bushes that lined the sandy road and the orange salamanders that we caught and housed in Folger's cans and oh, how young we were, all scabby-kneed, and how the world was only about pine trees and waking up early and being tucked in my someone who loved us.

That doesn't really make for a very good (lucid?) comment.

SO, when I attack my own keyboard, this is what my fingers say:

-I loved this
-love, love, love this
-I adore this
-brilliant
-resounds with me
-resonates with me
-marvelous
-amazing
-incredible
-you are generous
-you are talented
-you are fabulous
-spot on

Please be assured that if I visit your site and leave any of the aforementioned comments, they come from my heart. I mean them. I may be a gusher, but I am incredibly honest gusher. If I don't have anything nice to say, I keep my mouth shut.

You got your style. I got mine.