Overheard at a backyard BBQ this afternoon, an adult yelling across the yard to a group of children:

“Hey! Don’t put nail polish on that lizard!”

Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on there, campers. Don’t let that last entry make you think I’m all bent out of shape – I’m not. I was just being a little petulant, that’s all. Don’t pay it any mind.

The Pumpkinhead Beast that is my ego would love to think the ‘stake‘s passing would result in much woe and gnashing of teeth — but let’s get real. If you’re anything like me, you read the final ‘stake entry and went, “Oh. Huh. Bummer.” And then you calmly deleted the bookmark and moved on with your surfing, never to give it another thought. So if that was you, don’t worry about it, that’s the most natural of reactions and that’s how it should be.

But if you’re anything like my close personal friend Paul in South Africa, who wrote to reassure me that the ‘stake would be missed and my writing is wonderful and my spelling skills exemplary and that he’ll now be a regular reader here… Well, there’s a special place in heaven for ego-feeding angels like you.

And I apologize for calling you a mook.

Ya know, I didn’t expect a world-wide spasm of loss and pain when I announced that I was ending the ‘stake after 5 years with a readership that numbered in the hundreds at one point, but I thought there might be some reaction. You know, maybe a couple of emails from people saying “we’ll miss you,” or a couple of RIP-style link-backs. Some kind of reaction.

Apparently not.

One person reached out. One. So, thanks Deb for saying “bye-bye.” As for the rest of you mooks… Well, thanks for letting me know where I stand, I guess. The ol’ ego’s been appropriately deflated.

Pie factoid: Sources say Bob Hope celebrated his 100th birthday with pie. He apparently doesn’t like cake.