Mr London Street

This is a quick post to wish a writer well in the new year, as I have meant to do since December, and to say goodbye to the hope of new material on his blog. It is a sad farewell, because I have truly enjoyed his essays over the last couple years.

Actually, he just published again. I am really hoping he is going to write twenty or so farewell posts, then realize that there is, in fact, no reason for him to stop.

I discovered Mr London Street very early on in my blogging endeavor and knew immediately that he was a writer I could admire...and envy when his posts were so often superior to my own. I didn't love the topic choice of his every post. I didn't agree with all the opinions expressed, but there were many brilliant pieces written by Mr London Street that made me believe he had done with his words precisely what he had intended. That was an amazing accomplishment, and sometimes he just bowled me over and made me feel all warm and fuzzy and romantic and bursting with sunshine and goodwill, though I'm pretty sure he wouldn't appreciate my saccharine description of how his writing influenced my mood. (Sorry, fans are never demure.) He had more than a few essays published on various sites and also got, as he justly deserved, a column in his local Reading newspaper. My jealousy increased, because no matter how old-fashioned they are, I would love to write a regular column for a newspaper, any newspaper...but I digress.

In my opinion one of the things MLS did most brilliantly was describe his fellow human beings. As a reader you were fully invested in your hope, love, pity, admiration or disdain for these people, real people who populate his life - if only in his memory or for five minutes in the checkout line each Sunday.

My favorite posts of MLS's were those that he wrote about his wife. I won't attempt to explain why. Simply go read the ones below, and you will understand, I think.

The brace position

Women, Mothers

Thermostat

I wish all the best for Mr London Street in 2013. I am sad to see him leave blogging behind (or is he?), but my hope for him this year is that he will find a worthy publisher for his essays.

As I peruse his posts that I missed, I will try to link to my favorites in the future.

******************************************

I wish all my readers a Happy New Year! May you chase your dreams and never grow weary or discouraged. More importantly, may you experience a renewal of love, gratitude and charity for your family, friends and neighbors.

Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle - Plato


P.S. I hope everyone will discontinue this torrid love affair with smartphones, tablets, video game systems or whatever-the-heck is zipping around the next corner, get back to the sound concept of moderation in everything and rediscover nature, prayer and actual conversation via eye contact with the people who share their meals, room, home and neighborhood. Ironic coming from a blogger (why do you think I want to write for something as archaic as a newspaper?), but there you have it.