Yikes!

So, wow. Oklahoma bloggers who submitted nominations to the Okie Blog Awards decided that the page you're currently reading should be considered for the title "Most Inspirational Blog." Many many thanks to those folks; I appreciate the recognition and the kind regard you've shown in nominating me. I can't for the life of me figure out how me grouching, running my mouth and tossing in micro-reviews of airport novels qualifies as "inspirational," but I'm thankful anyway.

These awards were originally the creation of a man named Mike Hermes, who used to blog at "Okiedoke." He's semi-retired these days. This year, JenX of the blog "Are You There, God? It's Me, Generation X" decided to continue the competition, although she's already said this will be her only time to do so. Judging by the number of categories and entries, the amount of hard work that Jen put in for this project is obvious, and she deserves many public expressions of thanks -- like this one.

The major problem with Jen handling the awards was that she disqualified her own blog from the competition, and she would have been among the top candidates in several categories. I disagree with her politics but her writing is top-notch, even if I don't quite get it when she writes poetry (but I don't get much poetry written after 1880 anyway). My slowness in adding her to the link list reflects the fact that I need to pay more attention to said list.

If you're an Okie blogger, of course, you should check out the ballot and cast your votes. I'm not going to make recommendations, except in the category that includes Friar's Fires. And in that category, I think you should vote for the blog "Life is Real." It was the blog of Jim Chastain, a guy from my hometown who wrote about his battle with cancer over the last year or so before dying just before Christmas. Jim's also a good writer who faced his struggle with a wry point of view that inspired a lot of thought -- in me, anyway.

Again, thanks to my nominators, and please don't think that my recommendation to vote for another blog means I'm ungrateful. When I see some of the company I'm in and look at the others in that category, it really does feel like an honor to be nominated.

(ETA: Forgot to say the voting deadline is midnight Sunday, Feb. 14)