Offended?

I wrote on my other blog, Sounds of Hope about googly eyes.  Through google and other means, I have a pretty good idea of where people come from who read my blog.  I’m always curious.  Lately, Sounds of Hope seems to have a global interest.  Google analytics tells me that every day, at least a few people put my name in a search engine.  I think that scares me.  It makes me wonder.  Yet, I have put myself out here in the cyber world to tell my stories. 

This particular blog has been about my journey to the crucible of South Dakota.  Yesterday, from what I can piece together from comments, google analytics and other tracking, someone from Madison SD found this blog.  The comment they left indicated that they didn’t understand why I wrote the blog.  I evidently hit a nerve.

Madison SD is a rather pleasant college town about 50 miles from here.  The first summer we were here we spent a few hours there.  It was the year of the presidential primaries.  We ran into Bill Clinton who was campaigning on a misty rainy day in that fair city.  We stopped at the local McDonald’s and saw that people use it as a place to play cards as well.  As far as SD towns are concerned, Madison seems nice. 

It was interesting that someone from Madison would just happen to stumble on my blog.  If people from India, China, Russia, the Philippines and even some places I’ve never heard of happen to stumble on Sounds of Hope, I guess it’s not unusual.  I felt bad that they were offended by my ramblings.  I found it interesting in a blog where I was coming to terms with South Dakota in what I thought was a more positive frame of mind would be offensive.  Oh, I know that my blogs have caused some rankle and rage by some of the good folk of South Dakota.  But with perhaps the exception of my ranting about Governor Daugaard, I attempted to let readers know that this was about me – not the state.  Even the first blog I wrote on Storehouses seemed to make that pretty clear – at least I thought so.  It was a person from Madison who first asked me what God had for me in the Storehouses of Snow.  How ironic?!

I responded to this fine person from Madison that I wished I had met them.  They said they smiled and said “God Bless You.”  For those of you who know I have a penchant for sarcasm.  This is not sarcasm.  I appreciate so much the “Sunbeams” I’ve met here in South Dakota.  The sunbeams who didn’t like what I said sometimes but looked beyond that and understood.  And those precious but wonderful few who held my hand, assuring me it would be okay, and helped lead me out of my own misery.  Maybe this person from Madison could have been a friend.  I wonder how many other good people I missed meeting while I was here.  I could have used more friends but God gave me enough.  The ones He gave me will forever be in my heart.  

It’s almost over.  This sojourn to what for me has been a crucible is over.  I mentioned Kathleen Norris when I started this blog.  She’s not popular with a lot of South Dakotans either.  I think she probably is just as misunderstood as I am.  But that’s okay.  I’m in good company. 

To the fine folk of South Dakota, especially my new accidental reader(s) in Madison, I wish you well.  This blog will continue until the last piece of furniture is out of the state.  Until then, keep reading as I process these last few days in the Storehouse of Snow.