[William A. Baurle]

Absolutely right, Jayne. And I do appreciate the encouragement.

One of the reasons I don't do most of the things "normal" people do, like work hard to publish, enter contests, self-promote, join clubs, go to round ups and/or poetry readings, is because I'm socially inept, ridiculously shy, and extremely paranoid.* If I'm with a group of four or five people, I'll inevitably begin to feel unwelcome, even if none of the other people have given any indication that they don't want me around. I'm also afraid of failure and/or disappointment. It's much easier for me to not do anything. Apart from writing, of course, which is no problem because I'm all alone when I do it.

Socializing online is a lot easier. I don't have to see anyone's faces or body language, and I can exit the environment immediately when I begin to self-destruct.

All sad, but true!

*Maybe not paranoid afterall, just perceptive?