A Special Request

Had fun with Reader’s Choice 2011. Hope you did too. Thought it was all wrapped up until I received a comment from my friend Chef Nusy.

Nusy is a friend I would not know except for this blog. We’ve never met in person, but we converse in the comments and her story inspires me.

Nusy was born and raised in Hungary. She immigrated to the United States alone at the ripe old age of 20. Did it for love.

Nusy married and now lives with her husband in California. She coaches fencing, teaches bread making, studies, and writes a blog called And Cuisine For All.

What impresses me about Nusy is her heart of freedom.

Communism anticlimactically fell in her homeland, but not much has changed for her people. So Nusy embraces life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness we Yankee Doodle Dandies sometimes take for granted.

When Nusy’s request reached me, I was moved. Here’s what she wrote:

If there’s still a spot on Reader’s Choice… this is mine. While I enjoyed Milk Wars and I Like My Bike, this was the post that hit me the deepest this year; not just here—all around the blogosphere.

The impact of history on a generation of people… and the lack of impact on those born after the tragedy. As Tolkien would put it, “the sorrow of the Firstborn.” That we have seen and experienced something that no words can ever describe to those who weren’t there to see it; we stand monument to the greatest tragedy of modern times.

Chef Nusy’s Reader’s Choice is:

The Angry American

Posted on January 5, 2012December 17, 2012 by Aimee 7

Reader’s Choice 2011: I Like My Bike

It was the post that launched a thousand hits. And then some.

Quite by surprise, WordPress Freshly Pressed this simple story about a bike named Cindy on the last day of August 2011. A deluge of clicks and comments rolled in, making it the most read everyday epistle post to date.

Cheryl and Greg Brewer at a castle in Switzerland

Interestingly, it was last to be picked for Reader’s Choice. My classy, continent-hopping friend Cheryl Brewer came through at the eleventh hour with her unprompted selection.

Seems fitting to make it the Reader’s Choice post on this, the last day of 2011.

Be free. Go fast. Cheryl’s Reader’s Choice is:

I Like My Bike

pickmecindyIIsm — click to read I Like My Bike

Posted on December 31, 2011December 17, 2012 by Aimee

Reader’s Choice 2011: Milk Wars

Katie Pinke of Pinke Post is a force with which to be reckoned.

Earlier this month, Katie was appointed the director of the marketing and information division in the North Dakota Department of Agriculture.

But before that, when her favorite post was first published back in June, Katie spread the story far and wide.

Her network helped make this the second most read everyday epistle post to date. My stats show it has been shared 295 times and counting on Facebook and 51 on Twitter.

Thank you, Madame Director and friends.

Katie’s Reader’s Choice is:

Milk Wars

Posted on December 30, 2011December 17, 2012 by Aimee 4

Reader’s Choice 2011: Lyrical Interlude

Alicia Norton keeps me in stitches. The woman needs to be on stage.

Alicia loves involving the audience, as any good entertainer does. Perhaps that explains her Reader’s Choice selection. The audience comments on this one are as funny as the post itself.

Her pick also marked a milestone as the 100th entry on everyday epistle.

Leave it to a fun, significant person to choose a fun, significant post.

Alicia’s Reader’s Choice is:

Lyrical Interlude

pinkguitarlady — click to read Lyrical Interlude

Posted on December 29, 2011December 17, 2012 by Aimee

Reader’s Choice 2011: Dead Man Walking

I love my husband Jeff for many reasons. The latest being his Reader’s Choice pick.

Why did he choose this one as his favorite? I’ll let him explain:

“Because you capture the emotion I feel about Abe and the tenuous state we all are in, holding on to life by the grace of God.”

How could you read that and not love Jeff?

How could you read the post he picked and not love Uncle Abe?

Jeff’s Reader’s Choice is:

Dead Man Walking

abe&tcrp — click to read Dead Man Walking

Posted on December 28, 2011December 17, 2012 by Aimee

Reader’s Choice 2011: Lipstick, Interrupted

Libby McCandless is a beautiful person inside and out. A tall, thin, blonde fashionista with a heart of gold and a personality to match.

Libby is married to a Formula One aficionado who writes and produces the largest independent F1 blog in America.

And Libby can sing. She was recently featured in a spot for the new Glee app. Look for pretty in pink.

Beauty, fashion, fast cars, music. Add lipstick, and it makes for a deadly combination.

Libby’s Reader’s Choice is:

Lipstick, Interrupted

tenderheart&chocolateice — click to read Lipstick, Interrupted

Posted on December 27, 2011December 17, 2012 by Aimee 2

Reader’s Choice 2011: Momma Bear Speaks

Nicole Diehl of Here’s the Diehl is largely responsible for setting me loose on WordPress.

A dedicated mother of three, Nicole’s Reader’s Choice is one of the rare everyday epistle posts that does not link to a song.

There is no song to express the outrage, ferocity, and righteous anger responsible adults have against predators of children.

Nicole’s Reader’s Choice choice is:

Momma Bear Speaks

bear talk — click to read Momma Bear Speaks

Posted on December 26, 2011December 17, 2012 by Aimee 3

Reader’s Choice 2011: Put Your Own Mask On First

My precious friend Kathy doesn’t read my blog very often. She doesn’t need to because I tell her everything anyway.

Her husband Brad, on the other hand, does read everyday epistle.

Like me, Brad is a bit of a morning person, while our spouses are night owls. Guess who will be waking whom at the crack of dawn Christmas morning?

The kids of course.

Brad’s Reader’s Choice is:

Put Your Own Mask On First

pickmeslowchildrenatplaysm — click to read Put Your Own Mask On First

Posted on December 24, 2011December 17, 2012 by Aimee

Reader’s Choice 2011: Perfectionist? Your Secret’s Safe with Me

Elizabeth Whelan is not a perfectionist. Neither am I.

Furthermore, the fact that our husbands pitch their tents on the footloose-and-fancy-free side of organization is not our just desserts.

Thank goodness we have such delightful senses of humor.

For reasons I cannot explain, Elizabeth’s Reader’s Choice is:

Perfectionist?
Your Secret’s Safe with Me

J&Asml — click to read Perfectionist? Your Secret's Safe with Me

Posted on December 23, 2011December 17, 2012 by Aimee

Reader’s Choice 2011: Somewhere in Pennsylvania

Christel Oliphant is what we call an LLF. Lifelong friend.

It’s hard to remember when I didn’t know her. Miles separate us now. Still Christel proves the saying true: Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver and the other gold.

Christel’s favorite post was an emotional one to write. Had to relive the shock and sadness I first felt the day the story unfolded, then try to convey it with words.

Christel’s Reader’s Choice is:

Somewhere in Pennsylvania

pickmewallflagaddisonsm — click to read Somewhere in Pennsylvania

Posted on December 22, 2011December 17, 2012 by Aimee 4

Reader’s Choice 2011: Nice is the New Mean

Ginger Price has walked with lions in Africa. Really.

She’s also been named Vice President of the everyday epistle fan club, an imaginary association. My husband is President.

Dependable, kind, honest, smart, and humorous, Ginger has a saucy streak that endears her to those around her.

Bonus: her favorite post, published long before Kansas was on my radar much less my return address, contains a link to a clip from The Wizard of Oz.

Ginger’s Reader’s Choice is:

Nice is the New Mean

A&Ecroppedsml — click to read Nice is the New Mean

Posted on December 21, 2011December 17, 2012 by Aimee 2

Reader’s Choice 2011: Bitter Pants

Two readers made this post their top pick.

Entrepreneur and dear friend Mike Greene found it “refreshing and honest.” Bull’s-eye.

And Robin Prakken, one of the kindest, most gracious people I know, loved this post from the get-go. Something about how it reminds her we must simply “take them off!”

Me too, Robin. Me too.

Mike and Robin both chose as their Reader’s Choice post:

Bitter Pants

bitterskirt — click to read Bitter Pants

Posted on December 20, 2011December 17, 2012 by Aimee

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