Shout-out Saturdays!! -- Issue #1 from Enchanted Spirit

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It's Shout-out Saturday!!

So, @crazybgadventure has suggested we start a tag for #shoutoutsaturdays ... to try to give recognition to people whose posts we value and who we think are making a positive contribution to the platform. The Trending Page is a disgrace and an embarrassment ... and the visibility of quality work is a continuing (and serious!!) problem on Steemit.

That wild-and-@crazybgadventure offers this as one possible solution, and I think it's a great one. You can see his original post introducing the idea here ---> Shout out Saturdays!! I'm going to join his initiative with my own version of this ... and if anyone out there wants to do the same, we'd love to have the company (and support!!)

Finding great content on Steemit will be easier if we all help each other ... and helping people who need the recognition is great for our Karma. I would also like to invite every person I feature in my posts for #shoutoutsaturdays to please leave me a comment which includes the name of someone you believe would be a fine person to follow. I promise to check each one of them out ... and follow them if they interest me. And maybe they'll find their own feature in a future post. (You can also do one of your own. Nobody's stopping you!!)

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One step at a time

I'm not going to include every great person I follow in this first post. (I need to save some content for later, ok?) I urge you to check out the people I mention. Give them support if you like their content. Upvote their posts. Follow their blogs. Give them some comments to show your appreciation. You know the routine.

Not everyone will share my tastes, of course. That's why the Good Lord make different kinds of people. But some of you will ... and you are my people. The ones I'm looking for. (There is a saying that goes: That which you are seeking is also seeking you. This is a metaphysical truth. Maybe, in some cases here, we have found each other. If so, hallelujah!!)

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@crazybgadventure

First up, to lead off this parade, I pretty much have to mention that Crazy Guy himself -- @crazybgadventure. The man is a maniac, but a nice one. He's British, but he's living in Bulgaria. He can't speak the language. He has been freezing his ass off all winter with the snow and just a woodstove to heat the house. He gets yelled at by people speaking a language he can't understand. He has to act out his symptoms when he visits his doctor -- like a game of life-and-death charades.

But he claims to love the place. Go figure. He also offers random servings of toast to his friends ... and that's enough to keep me coming back for more. He is interested in the paranormal. (Another one of my passions!!) He seems like the type who will try anything once (ok, maybe twice, if he enjoyed it the first time.) He is a genuine delight to know ... and if he sounds like your kind of spiritual kin, hop on over and hit that "Follow" button. (You can always change your mind. He'll take it personally ... but what do you care?)

I hang out with him for the sheer joy he brings to my life. If you want to catch the overflow ... get over there like I told you. You could sure do worse.

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@apanamamama

Next up -- because she's on my mind a lot is @apanamamama . She and I have complementary leadership roles in our Discord group @thesteemengine so we pass each other every day, like ships in the night. The woman has five kids under the age of 10. She homeschools those who are old enough. And she still finds time to do Steemit. I wish I had her energy.

She used to live in Texas. Now she lives in Panama. I'm not sure it's a 100% love affair, this change to a new country and culture, but so far she's making it work. (Women do that. Somehow, we make it work.) From time to time she posts some interesting pieces about life in Panama. Not enough to make me want to move there, but I find something worthwhile in every one.

She used to have a regular schedule where she posted on a similar theme every day of the week. On Mondays, it was about handcrafts, sewing and stuff she made herself, but she may be running out of material on that one -- no pun intended. On Tuesdays it's often something about trees for Tree Tuesday. (They have some strange and interesting trees in Panama.) On Sundays, it's something religious / inspirational. You get the idea.

I think she probably takes in much of my metaphysical stuff here with a dose of caution and a big teaspoon of salt, but she's open-minded enough to at least have a look ... and that gets her a lot of credit with me. It also got her this number two spot. She writes well. She picks interesting topics. She's one of my favorite people. If anything I write about her here interests you, she's worth a click to check out.

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@sultnpapper

Next -- and last for this issue, I'm going to pick @sultnpapper -- a cranky old codger also from Texas, but he writes very interesting posts. He writes about his daily experiences, the latest things that annoyed him, bits and pieces of life that are simply on his mind. I'm confident you'll like him when you get to know him, but you have to give him a chance.

There's also much more to him than meets the eye, if you know what to notice. He did a short fiction piece a while back that was really quite remarkable. Madre del Muertas And the other day he did a piece on dreams that opened up new dimensions of the man and his mind for me to consider. I'm still pondering the depths I saw about him in this one. (Oh, if only he knew!!) Questions Leading to More Questions

He's a little more politically conservative than I am, but I can't argue with most of his rants. We're both "getting up there" in years. We're both independent thinkers. We've both learned through experience to say what we think and let the chips fall where they may. If you can appreciate all this, you're sure to appreciate him. He's a "must read" on my daily calendar. He well might be for you, too.

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Ok, that's enough

I think three is going to be my limit on people to recommend in this feature for a while. But I'm notorious for changing my mind (just ask @catweasel ) so don't hold me to that. It's my own damn blog and I'll do what I like. Either roll with it or go do your own. I have LOTS more people to talk about, but I want you to go check out the ones I wrote about here. I don't want to overwhelm you with choices. Nobody wins from that.

Check back again next time when I'll probably do an all-Leo issue. You know what those folks are like. If you don't speak their names and damn fast, they'll pout for a week. Life becomes miserable until they get their own way. So I'll make them that promise. Next time, you guys. Here's a sneak-preview in case you want to get a head start. @arbitrarykitten ---> @eaglespirit ---> @derosnec ---> @catweasel (Yeah, I know there's four already. I warned you ... I'll break my own rules.)

This way they got an actual mention in the first issue. They can't squawk too much. (But they will. As I said, you know how they are.)

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Now, it's your turn

If you're inspired by this post -- or any of the others that follow this tag, do consider doing your own version with your own favorite people as fuel. I find it's easy to talk about folks I like and admire. This post practically wrote itself. Now ... if it would only illustrate itself, I could get on to something else.

Until next Saturday ... all you lovely souls. Stay safe. Be happy. Get a little bit crazy. In honor of the guy who started this gig. Shout-outs to you all!!

About the art in our visual essays ...

Although sometimes the background pictures in our visual essays support the topic and text, they don't always. Sometimes the connection is clear. Sometimes it's symbolic and subtle. Sometimes, there's no connection at all.

The scenes depict landscapes and natural features, buildings and wildlife. They were chosen because they show something lovely or interesting ... or simply because the photo appealed to me.

Our spectacular and remarkable planet is changing at astonishing speed. Rarely are these changes for the better. Few people seem to know ... or care ... or have the will and power to do anything about this. It may not be long before the world humans have known and lived in for centuries is forever lost. We certainly won't be able to make repairs as fast as we destroyed it.

So a few years ago I began collecting pictures of the way things were ... and still are for now, a record of the beauty we have while it is still ours to love and honor.

The photos here are part of that collection, with sincere thanks to the artists who saw these moments ... and with their cameras ... preserved them. All of us at Enchanted Spirit are profoundly grateful to them for their generosity and skill ... and for the added grace, depth and dimension their art brings to ours.

Original images used under this Creative Commons license or this Creative Commons license and modified by added text.

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