My Sojourn Here At the Café

Just a glimpse at what my time here at the cafe has done for me.

 

            I have been a member of writerscafe.org since August 14^th, 2007. Since that day I have seen a lot through this site, gotten to talk to many different individuals that I otherwise wouldn’t have known, learned lessons that others have taught through their writing. A lot of friendships have been made through this site, and almost all of them have been tried with the typical drama that occurs in any community. Yet through the drama the bonds of friendship haven’t been severed, rather strengthened.

            It all started with a project with my best friend, Alex Merrill. We were trying to make his film company have a good start, trying to think up good story ideas for a short film. He called me on August 12^th, and told me to look up this cool site a teacher from our old high school had told him about, a community for writers to post their work and read others’ poems and stories. I looked it up, and was extremely impressed by the way people presented themselves and their work. You were able to personalize your page, make it look how you want with different backgrounds and add graphics and playlists to your bio, as well as post your work. For the first two days I was one of the guests hovering around the site, looking at stories with Alex and holding phone conversations as to what we thought of different stories. On the 14^th, he woke me up with a phone call and told me that he thought that I should post some of the poems from high school and see what people thought. Some of my friends had told me I was good at writing, but I more or less brushed the comments aside as simple support of something I enjoyed to do. It was an outlet for my thoughts, a way to cope with my parents’ deaths that January. Still, he persuaded me with the good old question “What can you lose from it?” Huh. I joined the site, made a profile and put up some writings. I added some of the poets I had read before on the site, and many more added me and welcomed me to the ranks of the writers. Among those people were such names as Blackbirdsong, Fantasy Fairy, Naedknarf, Celtic Cat, and Gary H. These were people I aspired to be as good as. I got to work more seriously, trying to juggle college and this new time filler.

            I do admit, at first I wanted to be a Top Writer, just like almost anyone else. I posted poems as quick as I could write them, and reviewed my a*s off while being honest in my reviews. When I saw someone having a problem I often offered suggestions, though I didn’t know how much use my help was exactly. Through this I made more friends, and spent more time talking to these people than actually doing my college classes. A bit of a bad decision most would say, but I was fine with my decision, felt no guilt from it and I still don’t. Everyone I was talking to was helping me to cope with the loss of my parents, especially a good friend who was there for me to talk to and ask questions, and even simply vent to. Bubo helped me through so much, and through that friendship and others, I ended up forgetting about the ranking system, and rather wrote simply for the release. It felt great to let go of everything, and to talk to other people. I watched and learned from writers like Orlando, learning new words and styles from him and S. P. Vaporis. Mr. Vaporis taught me a lot that influenced my writing styles. Something that drew me to his poems was the way he formatted them to be more than simple stanzas, but gave them shapes, and life through different dimensions and emphasized his words like that. I employed the lessons learned and soon I had a style that was all my own, a mixture of the various styles of those poets and writers I looked up to. They are the ones I have to thank for it, and it is a pretty big number of people on here, nearly everyone that I have read. This site gave me teachers in all my friends.

            There was a certain storyteller here on the site that I greatly admired for his ability to create the most captivating words. Captain Blackheart first asked me to read his poem The Duel, which is to this day a favorite of mine. I kept reading his works, and watched in excitement as he wrote the diaries of his alias. These stories were so much fun to read, and were a huge hit on the cafe. The way he told the stories was fun and he always managed to keep the pace going at just the right speed for the actions in the stories. I was fortunate enough to be allowed to write my own little installment of his story, a tale of a crewmember’s mission to assassinate a dangerous man. This was my first ever collaboration-type writing, and it thrilled me to have been able to do that. Aside from being shipmates in his stories, the Captain and I became pretty good friends, talking about what was happening in our lives. Through our friendship I got to know another great poet, Amor-de-Angel. Her works of love gave me bits of hope to find my own, and this is something else that I found through the café.

            Actually, maybe I should say that she found me. I received a review from a mysterious, intelligent woman by the name of CarrieLynn. From the minute I read that review I decided that I wanted to befriend her. The way she talked to me made my heart race for some weird reason, and the way she wrote completely took my breath away. It wasn’t long before we started talking on the phone ourselves. And that was when I was a goner for sure. Her voice was able to take me away from the past, and I had hopes, dim at first, of being with her. Slowly, bit by bit, she was taking my heart. I started writing romance poetry, and it wasn’t half bad at all, she even liked it. Carrie opened up a new side of me. I was still me, just saw things, and experienced everything on a higher level. Especially poetry. I read even more, reviewed more than before. I was happier than I had ever been. Writer’s Café had been the place for love to find me, as funny as it sounds. Since then we have only been falling more and more for each other, and I am an extremely lucky man to be with her, distance or not.

            About a month after Carrie and I started going out, I decided to befriend a writer whom I had seen much of on the café, a man named Rain. His reviews were sometimes humorous, and he was full of wisdom. I read his works, and the way he told everyone about his life was just so amazing. I learned lessons that I could have learned the hard way. Here was someone that seemed almost a father to me, despite having only talked for a little. He gave fatherly advice that a kid like me could use, and we talked on various subjects. He still is a dear friend to me, and I look forward to his teachings in the future.

            Of course, as I have someone that is a fatherly figure on here, I also have someone who I look at as a mother as well. She left a ways back now, had some personal reasons for leaving. But she wrote under the name of Tai Chi Italy. Tai joked with me, laughed with me, and treated me much like my own mother used to. I was happy to have spoken with her, as she also taught me much about trusting people, and the way the world works. The way she talked to me, not as just some 18-year-old, but as a young adult, made me feel really confident about myself. She told me she was proud of me when I wrote of different things about my mother, and it seemed like mom was speaking through another person. I miss her greatly, but I am glad that I did get the opportunity to talk to her while she was here.

            There are still amazing people I am meeting, such as Vatsayayana and LLB, that are simply a blast to talk to, and to read. The people I meet on here are a huge part of my life, and I would be a very different person had this site not existed. True we have drama, and changes happen like the new template and the read requests, some pretty big things. But we have all pulled through, as a community. This small pocket of the internet is home to me, and I could never leave this place. I am here to stay, to be able to talk to some people I have grown very fond of through the past eight months. I only hope that I can get the opportunity to meet all of you, to be able to tell you in person how much you have all done for me, and to thank you for the impact you have had on my life. I owe Charlie a big part of my happiness. He made me a home, a place I belong. Writer’s Café is a place I can display my writing and share it, but more importantly, it is the community that I am a part of, where I can meet new people and be with those I already know.

            Waiter, I’ll have another cup of Cap! Time for me to get back to writing and to stop being so soppy hehe.

Author's Note

I can name so many more people that I am thankful for, but this would be unbearably long if I did haha. So you know who you re, and thank you. :)

Reviews

[Imperfection]

Lovely.
I'm smiling :-)
A lot of what you've written is true for me as well. I joined the site when I was going through the most difficult time of my life and the people and the writing that I've found here has helped me survive that.

Your one of those whose writings have touched many hearts - mine, included.
That's why I like reading you so much.
Keep writing.

[Jessica Benfield]

i love this piece!! you are truly confident and honest in your words here, john, and i thank you for that. this cafe does feel like home, a place you can write, read, talk and more importantly live. i know it sounds a bit jurastic, but really, if you are as devoted to this website as you so wondrously expressed here, you poured all your heart and soul into this place. i love this site, and i agree, if this site didnt exist, i would not have met any of the people i know on here today, nor would i be so happy in my own life. many of my friends on here have offered such great advice, and really made my life so much better knowing whenever i had a problem, i always had someone to talk to. so thanks john, for writing this piece, coming to this site, and being such a good friend.
hugs,
jess

[Captain Blackheart (The..]

Well John, what can I say.....thank you for counting me amongst your friend here on the cafe, I am lso glad to have getting to know you and I inspired you to write that wonderful piece on the mission I set out for you :) . The friends I have made here on our little comunity are wonderful people, all have unique and wonderful talents and I learn so much from different people everyday. I am so glad we became friends and I am very happy for you and Carrie.....*Captain bow before the both of you*

Honour and Respect my friend!

[R J Askew]

Well,. this piece of writing definitely has a beating heart...and in the right place. You also display a strong and level-headed sense of awareness and you express it with sustained clarity. But the main point is the feeling you convey which is a joy to read. As I read the piece I was dreading you were going to say something bad had happened and you were leaving, so I was delighted to find it was an outburst of comradeship. Respect!

[Vatsayayana]

What a wonderful, thoughtful dedication to those who helped you and befriended you upon the site. This is so fabulous sweetie. :) You were one of the first people I talked to on this site. I've enjoyed our conversations and it was a complete honor to meet you and CarrieLynn both. I've been enamored of you both from the start. Like you I'm naughty and do have a tendency to play on here more than sometimes I do work/studying with my college classes. ~grin~ But I am woman, therefore a multitasker. Hehehehe
This is beautiful and heartfelt. Kudos to you! You really are a wonderful writer and a fabulous friend. ~hugs hugs hugs~ Love, Emmy

[Blackbirdsong]

Wow John, thank you so much for including me on that list of people. I remember when you joined, so full of enthusiasm for this site and as I can see everyday on here that hasn't ended. I'm glad you found us and we found you. You've been an asset to this site from the day you joined it and I'm happy for that you and Carrielynn. Thank you so much for writing this piece. It's a good reminder to us all about exactly is most important about this site and what keeps so many of us coming back.

[Fantasyfairy]

Hey John, its been a while. I love this piece, it's so honest and open. You have always been a great writer, and I am so glad you met Carrie and I wish you both all the love in the world. This is so much like a lot of people on here in the cafe, the story could be told anonymous and everyone could name at least one person who could have written it, because the story's are so similar. This is a wonderful heartfelt piece of writing and I am so glad I was able to inspire you to continue to write. It is because of the cafe that I too, have continued to write. Thank-you so much for sharing this wonderful piece of writing. XX

[Celtic Cat]

This is such a great piece. You've showed us your trip through the WC and the merits it has given you. I feel much the same way, about this place being home. I had shunned the internet years ago because when you work on a computer all day...it's not something you want to run home to as well. But, last year, after failing to try to get an acting career off the ground and running out of severance pay and unemployment, I ended up getting an Admin job not far from home. It was at this here little Machine Shop, where I am 99.9% of the time when on WC, that I became reacquainted with the ethers. A young lady co-worker named Lisa taught me all about MySpace. I set up three accounts...one to purge my relationship issues, one professional one with my Headshot on it...and another one for anonymity. I started blogging but wasn't getting much feedback there...and it was there that I was lead to the WC. I'm not sure who or how I found it, but I did. I joined right away, and was befriended by many awesome writers as well. This was the first time in my life that I ever shared my poetry other than reading some over the phone here and there in my youth with friends. The feedback I received was so encouraging...and it got my creative juices flowing again. I had put down the pen for years, and was happy to be reacquainted with my free form of therapy. I stepped outside my comfort zone...started writing structured poetry and even dabbled in a short story...which became the Featured Piece...back when that was still around. I was overwhelmed and felt like a million bucks. I have never been a competitive sort, so I never sought to be Top anything...but someone read my Featured Piece and found it worthy to be in the Spotlight. Today, I am in a writing class....learning to do a one-woman stage show that I will write myself and perform on May 5th in NYC. I take the b.s., the "sanfus", even the Kotex commercial background and bear it all....because this is also my home away from home. My friends here walk me through everything, and for that, I am blessed. Thank you so much for sharing your story with us, and for allowing me to share mine as well. Much love~~

[Wulfstan Crumble]

Wow, i shouldve reviewed you before now to get a name drop ;-)
Its really nice to see some positivity going around here and your words were a great tribute to your friends on here. They must be well chuffed by it. Ive been a member since December 2006 and its been dramatic and the site has changed a lot from how it was a year back. Thanx for the heart warming and well written piece.

[Rain]

John, I think you should know, as you were touched by various people on this site...you also touched people. From a personal view, sometimes if felt like ending our writing with, Take care, son," other times, I called you "Brother", and always thought of you as a "Friend." This piece is typical John Stussy. That is why people took an interest in you. I forgot McCool. lol. To me...you are a fine young man, that I am proud to know, as son, brother..and friend. You are one of a kind. Love, Rain..

[Chloe..Across the Unive..]

John i respect all the names you did list.. great people .. writers too but people first.. i joined on April 29 of 07.... met some of the same people and met you and Carrie .. and i wish you the best.. so glad you now write for the joy and release .. being listed as top writer, sure it is nice .. but not required to be a top writer..Tai still comes by here and there .. i think she will be back..
Enjoyed this.. :)

Goodnight ..
Chloe
xoxo