Tuesday, January 11, 2011

I See ... You!

The blogosphere's connectivity fascinates me. I guess it's actually the bloggers, or those who create the blogosphere's essence, that hold my fascination. As a blogger, I am even fascinated by myself. It's why I blog. I am compelled to analyze what makes me, me - and then I write about it.

But who cares to learn anything from what I've written other than me?

According to my blog's tracking program, visitors from around the world come and go. Some drop in and leave quickly; others stumble upon an entry and then spend time clicking through or reading through a string of previous ones. Some find their way to my blog because a key term alerted them, while others find their way via a reference from a friend. And then there are my regular readers. When I post something, they read it. Of course, I'm partial to them - whomever they are. If you are a regular reader, please know I am deeply grateful for your companionship on my journey.

I don't get to track readers by name; but I can see where they come from, for the tracking program lists the city name for their Internet service provider. Each time I glance through the roster of cities I am reminded of Miss Sally from my Romper Room watching era. Her magic mirror allowed her to look into the television camera and see children who were watching her at home. Her magic began with a special rhyme that caused the mirror to become transparent.

Romper, bomper, stomper boo.
Tell me, tell me, tell me, do.
Magic Mirror, tell me today,
have all my friends had fun at play?
The credibility of her magic powers solidified with the names of the children she greeted: "I see Cindy and Mary and John. I see Bobby and Mark and Jenny. And oh, look, there's Becky and Marcy and Pamela and Robbie and James and Karen and Paula."

Most days her listing of names felt incredibly long - especially to a young girl who was waiting day after day for her name to be said. But Joy was an uncommon name for that decade; I cannot recall her ever calling out my name in greeting during the after-school hours of the late 60s or early 70s. If she did, I believe it must have been on a day I missed the show. And that's likely what occurred, yes? Because I am certain Miss Sally knew I was there. (At least I strongly hoped she did.)

And I know you are there, dear blog reader. Perhaps you have a blog of your own and are checking out what other bloggers are doing. Or maybe you are having a lonely night and are just doing some surfing in the blogosphere. Or perhaps an internet search or alert of some sort had this entry grab your interest and with one click you entered my blog version of Romper Room. Or you saw I posted something new, so you thought you'd check it out.

Well, I see you. Check the list below to see if your city is named. I've been compiling this list for a few months now; but I'm not confident I have them all, so if I've missed your city, please post it in the comments.

And if you've never seen the wonder of the magic mirror or if you want to relive the experience from your own early days, check out this 1984 clip. Especially listen for the greeting this Romper Room hostess gives to a young woman named Olivia Joy. Lucky little girl!




Ankeny
Burlington
Rochester
Orange Beach
Forest City
Princeton
Marion
Cedar Rapids
Bellevue
Washington, D.C.
Smyrna
Warsaw
Addieville
Riyadh
Sun Prairie
Ames
Honolulu
New York
Hampton
Humboldt
West Des Moines
Wilton
Mason City
Thompson
Lake Mills
American Fork
Oelwein
Cary
Hayfield
Kalsruhe
Lexington
Dallas
Portland
Chicago
Minneapolis
Des Moines
Buffalo Center
Burnet
Chanhassen
Underwood
Lake View
Addieville
Alta
Memphis
Nurnberg
Waverly
Hendersonville
Iowa City
Stoughton
Columbus
Amsterdam
Kansas City
Lagrange
Charles City
Charlotte
Tacoma
De Witt
Hendersonville
Milford
Nottingham
Queen Creek
West Union
Andover
Toowoomba
Mountain View
Darlington
Olathe
Tualatin
Kuala Lumpur
Linkoping
Los Angeles
Alhambra
Saint Marys
Toronto
Houston
Lake Crystal
Algona
Herndon
Wells
Mombasa
Orlando
Urbandale
Johnston
Cincinnati
Delhi
Omaha
Jesup
East Lansing
Cedar Falls
Columbus
Rio De Janeiro
Bothell
Colo
Fargo
Mansfield
Shakopee
Bismarck
Madison
St. Paul
Fountain City
Lincoln
Parker
Walnut
Mankato
Orange Park
Battle Creek
San Diego
Hollywood
Morrisville
Woolstock
Seabrook
Greenville
Blue Earth
Murfreesboro
Sulpher Springs
Commerce
Woodway
Istanbul
Shelby
Normal
Stoke-on-kent
Medan
Eagle River
Dubai
Windsor
Petoskey
Annandale
Lumberton
Carmel
Appleton
Waseca
Scarville

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Omaha :)

Joy said...

I see you, Omaha!!!! :)
Thanks for stopping by!