Greetings fellow Pendley tribe members, friends, or total strangers, whatever the case may be.
I've been toying with an idea for some time now of starting a family Blog to provide a forum for sharing news, photos, stray thoughts or whatever else various extended family members would be comfortable hanging out in a public space. The genesis for this project comes as a result of several influences:
1) I've been regularly reading some tales on blogs by other people, and in so doing have had all my notions about privacy and community utterly challenged.
2) My current full time job is "Learning Specialist" for Blue Mountain Community College where one of my roles is to promote various uses of technology for enhancing teaching & learning. In that capacity I've had a chance to look at a lot of different ways that people communicate.
3) My other job is adjunct instructor for Wenatchee Valley College. I teach two on-line courses for them: Principles of Sociology and Sociology of the Family. Both classes make extensive use of threaded discussion. In my Family course I had a student say: "I wish I had a discussion board like this I could share with my family members who live all over the country. It would be a great way for us all to stay in touch."
So I thought, why not? I figured I'd go ahead and set it up, and then let individual tribe members choose whether or not they want to participate.
It is a little weird, I must admit, to have conversations with each other that ANYONE with an internet connection could access. So some basic courtesy and precautions are definitely in order. For example - it's perfectly fine to share anything about YOU and your immediate household that you are comfortable having displayed in this public sort of forum. It's NOT ok to disclose information about other family members- even if it seems totally harmless. What feels quite innocuous to one person may be perceived as quite private to someone else. So no "outing" others about their comings and goings, including upcoming vacation plans, last weekend's barbecue, cute kid sayings or anything else, unless you have that person's permission, ok?
I would imagine there may be some family members who will be appalled at the whole notion of this family blog. That's fine. They don't have to play. Others may choose to read occasionally to see what the clan is up to, but stay in the background lurking without ever logging on themselves. That's ok too. But for those of you who may be willing - let us hear from you!
I've got aunts and uncles and cousins I deeply care about but seem to have completely lost touch with. Face it, most of you only hear from me in an annual Christmas letter. It's not that I don't think of you other times of the year. I do! But correspondence seems to be a dying art.
So let's try this and see what happens. Perhaps there will be a few feeble postings and then it will die out all together. Or not. It's up to us.
Ball is in your court. Want to play?
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5 comments:
Hi, Daniel Foster here (Andy's oldest son). I'm in, and if you want to hear some uninformed opinions check out my blog at www.blackowl.blogspot.com . Be seeing you...
Eric Pendley, the loser formerly known as Brian, son of Wayne Pendley, here. I'll jump on the bandwagon. I too have an uninformed blog running, however mine is additionally quite random, focused on nonsense and inanity, and sometimes slightly profane, so let the reader beware. If you are foolish enough to look want to look at it, you can find it at randomintimacy.com.
I probably will write here approximately as often as I write my Christmas letter, but a way to keep up with the Pendley clan is exciting in a strange way. Kinda like when you drive by two dogs having sex on the side of the road. You know you may see something you are not sure you want to see, but you just have to look.
I am Pam Clark (nee: Hackett)of Cottonwood - surrogate sibling of the Don/Nancy Clan.
Hi all,
I too am not sure how much i will keep up to date - I am Pat Pendley (Rueger)'s youngest daughter Gretchen. I live in Colorado and havent seen the ranch for several years now, maybe this summer I can plan a trip! Thanks linda for always keeping the communication going in some form or another! hope to see all of us on here from time to time!
I am the oldest Pendley grandchild and remember when almost all the sibs lived on the ranch and it was magical. I remember when each granchild was born because my Mom (Eva Pendley #3)and Dad brought our family to AZ every spring my entire childhood. I watched marraiges come and go. Babies grow. Have gotten to know some of you cousins as adults. My grand daughter, almost 4, is Ellie Pendley Gottesman...my daughter's first girl. My son's 1 year old daughter is Ava..a twist on Eva. I turned 60 this January and John (Nina's son) is the youngest grandchild and I think he is 22. I know about blogs but have never ventured into one. Again...thank you Lynda for your constant faith in us and never giving up even though our family is famous for not writing...but there is lots of loving. Gretchen-When you were one my husband stayed at Aunt Pat's after getting discharged from Fort Huachuca. I flew (my first time on a plane) at age 21 to meet him at your house. The Viet Nam War was blazing and he luckily got into the army reserves and became a trained army cook. Came in handy when cooking breakfast for large groups at our cabin near Seattle. To Uncle Donald's kids...I observed your lives as babes and toddlers. Strange to me yet you all went on to become amazing people from what I have seen and heard. I was the first in the family to graduate from college...U of Washington '68. God, I am really sounding old but feel about 25. I have strong memories of each and every one of you even though you may not even know I exist. Enuf for now...maureen in Seattle
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