Ribbit
My favorite cartoon is an old (1955) Warner Brothers shtick that features a frog who dons a top hat and cane and sings and dances brilliantly—as long as it is in front of the guy who found him, (in the cornerstone of an 1892 building he was demolishing, as it turns out). You may remember, “Hello my baby, hello my honey, hello my ragtime gal…”
The workman sees dollar signs and trots the frog off to a talent agent, where the extent of the frog’s performance is—”Ribbit.” The cigar smoking talent agent throws him and his frog out. As soon as the door closes the frog resumes his performance, ”Hello my baby….
For the past three years, I’ve maintained a tiny email list (and when I say tiny, I’m talking nine people) to whom I’ve written passionately, personally—and privately.
Now I’m in public on Substack and I feel like all I can muster right now is...Ribbit.
I wonder if Michigan J. Frog (that’s his name) ever got over his stage fright.
I’m gonna try.
Thanks for being here. xoxox hb
Bugs Bunny (where this cartoon had a semi-frequent rotation in the 1970's) was my absolute favorite growing up. My take was that MJF was stubborn, and choosy about his audience. No harm in that.
Ribbit!
Someone said, "If it doesn't scare you to push the "post" button, you're doing something wrong." I think there's truth to this. My more personally revealing and/or controversial posts seem to do better than the ones that are comfortable and informational. Still I hold back a lot on my blog -- out of fear.