At the risk of doing a parody on a folk song I happen to love, I'll ask the question noted in the title: where have all my journals gone?

Actually, I know the answer to it---several writers are on announced indefinite hiatus, while several others are taking vacations that keep them away from computers. One writer skipped a day to deal with a sick child. And a faithful few are keeping on with the updates.

But don't these people understand it's all about me? Don't they understand that when they don't update, it creates a blank spot in my reading pleasure? Don't they understand that I don't want to have to go elsewhere and look for something else to read?

Okay, before anyone heads over to the "write to me" link and reminds me it's NOT all about me, and on the off chance you missed that it was a joke, I'll say flatly it was a joke. But I do miss my favorites when they take time away, or even worse, quit writing altogether.

It's not always easy, by any means, to post entries every day, or even every week. All of the writers I read regularly (and not all of them have been linked yet) are people with busy lives.

I've told you before that David's was the first personal site I came across, in November 1999. From his, I found others, and still others from them.

One reason I love to read journals so much is to see how other people cope with things. Sometimes I feel better after a reading session, because I see that some of the problems I experience are not mine alone---other people are paying the penalties for being packrats; are trying to make do with less than a comfortable amount of income; are scared of failing somehow with a creative endeavor. But all of them are willing to share their thoughts.

And one of the reasons I started this site was to share mine. It's not that I think everything I say is profound, or funny, or even worth more than a cursory skimming. It's that I may have a thought that will be useful to someone, or have had an experience that will make someone feel less alone against the world. I'm sorry if this sounds like a huge ego talking; that's not how it's meant.

Some days, I need a safe place to rant. This journal serves that purpose pretty well. Sometimes I write a rant that gets toned down considerably before it gets posted. Sometimes I wind up rethinking my position and not ranting at all, because I see the other side of the issue, and find enough in it to agree with, before I put the coding around the words. But writing out my thoughts helps clarify them.

Then sometimes I don't have much to say. On those days, though, I try to post something, just to let it be known that I'm stilll alive and well and living in North Carolina. On the days when I don't have a lot to say, it most likely means that whatever has gone on during the day has me tired, and that since I've gotten into the habit of posting fairly late at night, I'm too tired to write about anything for a long period.

So thank you for coming to back to read, especially on days after a short entry might have left you wondering why I bothered to post. A special thanks to those who take a moment to write, or to post on the board. And to those readers who have journals also, thank you for the privilege of reading your thoughts, and for the things I've gained from you.

To the writers out there: if you're vacationing, or on hiatus, have a good time, but please come back soon. I miss you, and I'm certain others do, too. If you're one of those writing regularly, thank you!

And I wonder why you read online journals---or if you have one of your own, were you inspired to start it by reading others? Come tell us about it here.