The Second Chance Write-Off Oct 12 '03 (Updated Jan 09 '04)    Write an essay on this topic. Tweet The Bottom Line Here lies “The Second Chance W/O.” Find entombed here links to participants and my own entry. The idea: resurrect old opinions. Now this is itself yesterday’s news. R.I.P. Hugs When we hug I feel so happy. It’s like a bug Who isn’t zappy. In these times when the world is scary and dark and strange I think of how wonderful It is to hug you, To hold you tight Like a sponge In day and night-- With gladsome zeal And remember all the feelings that we feel. Together, we strode the bowers Holding various kinds of flowers For intoxicating hours. Holding hands and holding our breath We could have been under water But we were actually walking on clouds Of popcorn dreams and puppy’s smiles, I love you when you hold my mules. So don’t forget it’s Mothers’ Day And everyday it’s joyous and ecstatic In the dusty dust-filled attic, In this treetop of ours Where kittens and unicorns shine Bemusedly aloft, So sleepy and soft. http://www.epinions.com/content_3102515332 When we hug I feel so happy. It’s like a bug Who isn’t zappy. In these times when the world is scary and dark and strange I think of how wonderful It is to hug you, To hold you tight Like a sponge In day and night-- With gladsome zeal And remember all the feelings that we feel. * * * A host looks back in pride Of the many things I’ve learned about this site, one is that no matter whether one has slaved over a review/post or simply dashed it off, and whether it is filled with brilliant insight or is incompetent in one way or another, everything ultimately vanishes into dormancy bordering on oblivion. While a piece remains among the five visible in one’s profile, it has life— especially if it is the most recent. Once it slips past that mark, it might as well be last year’s newspaper. The Second Chance Write-Off gave members a chance to scour over their gone and forgotten, neglected and dejected opinions and essays and to resurrect one or two for the community. Of course, the same sad, infernal and inexorable logic that buried their original reviews, and all reviews, soon enough rolled over this Write Off and the entries themselves, so that the revived pieces enjoyed a second death. And so it goes. I recommended various forms for members to slip in links to their old posts, but only the “Bad Poem” (an example of which is festering above) seemed to generate interest. Its directions were: Write a bad poem on any topic, preferably a hopelessly well-trod one like Love or Death or Friendship, and make a reference one way or another to the deceased review. By “bad,” I mean trite, generalized, wooden, or otherwise ungainly and banal. Think of greeting cards. The nature of this Write-Off is that words die, but can be revived for a short period. That spirit applies to the Write-Off itself, in the sense that while “over and done with” (frankly, nobody’s been knocking on this door for a while), this party could be temporarily revived in one of two ways: 1) read some entries, 2) be so bold as to write your own belated “dent in dough.” My warm thanks to all those who joined! The Participants: (and links to their entries) sleeper54 dbcint dicknkay beckytcy WilliamJones ed_grover Stephen_Murray Volition45 drdevience JENNI1396 benstarr kristinafh atchesonate DavidMac lambchops millinocket

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Write an essay on this topic.