Sh*tting Diamonds

I once got the following comment on one of my political rants:

Hi,

I read your site almost everyday, and generally it is true that you are moderate and interesting. However, these past two posts were fairly bothersome, if not annoying. I really enjoy your thoughtful and witty posts, but these past two posts seem more like a spoiled child complaining to his mom about how mean his teacher is.

They are far from moderate, and they are far from thought provoking.

I understand that this is YOUR outlet, and this is a blog about your life and opinions, but come on. These posts seem strictly reactionary.

I find it incredibly boring to read the long rants on blogs about how oppressed the Palestinians are, but on the same note, I find it equally annoying to read about how the poor settlers aren't being included and treated fairly.

To say it tripped most of my fuses would be an understatement... but I quashed my first knee-jerk reaction and instead left the following reply:

Sorry buddy, I can't sh*t diamonds every single try. I am reactionary... I am boring... I am interesting... I am moderate.  I'm all the things that you enjoy and dislike...just not all at the same time. You seem to have caught me on a couple of bad days. Come back some other time and I'll try to scale back the bothersome and annoying quotient.

I then went on later in the comment thread to get into a pissing contest with the guy, and as a result I didn't really stop to think about the kernel of truth in his original comment... or in my reply.

Bottom line, the guy was right in that my posts would be far more enjoyable for people to read if I had the patience to sit on them for a few days and had the wisdom to delete the ones that are beyond redemption.  But I was also right in saying that "I can't sh*t diamonds every single try". 

Nobody can!  Or so I used to think.

Several of the bloggers I read have recently added 'My Shrapnel' to their blogrolls.  I am not that adventuresome but I ended up taking a peek at the site when I noticed that even Zahava was reading her.

The blog is mostly a collection of notes and recollections from the aftermath of the author being seriously wounded in a suicide bombing outside Machane Yehuda.  I fully expected it to be full of self-pity and attention-seeking... but I was shocked to find crystal clear, brutally honest and often laugh-out-loud funny, essays that she has meticulously collected from a period when her life and world were quite literally blown to pieces.

Gila (the blogstress) is an excellent writer without a trace of an agenda.  I've been reading her for weeks and don't have a clue about her politics or her views on religion.  It is an amazing feat to be able to write about one's life, family, friends, experiences, traumas and recovery without relying on religion or politics to explain events or assign blame. 

And unlike yours truly who wakes up and vomits whatever is on his mind into a blog post, most of Gila's essays have been sitting like fine wine in her notebooks and memory for years... waiting to be shared or set aside.  The result is a collection of diamond perfect posts that have been carefully weighed for their relevance and doled out slowly like precious gems.

I know I will never be able to sit on my posts long enough to allow them to mature and crystallize the way Gila has.  I will probably continue to toss up good, workman-like writing on most days and sh*t the occasional diamond on a lucky day.  But rather than try today, I think I'd rather point you over to 'My Shrapnel' and let you see how it's really done.

[Note:  If you have the patience, go to the earliest posts and work your way forward]

Shabbat Shalom.