JT writes to the Yahoo Terminator group

I am here, every now and again in my mangy wig and my scratched up sunglasses, sometimes not, sometimes in my pajamas, sometimes in a really pretty get up by Gary Graham, but I've been laying off the dark chocolate....well let me rephrase that, scaling back some. I'm still heavily on the green tea.

I am a writer.
To have gotten to that point, where I can say that, has been a direct result of y'all reflecting back something to me I didn't believe in--through the wondrous gifts of your words. I've always been deeply effected by the story of Oscar Wilde. He refused to believe that his work would matter so little to people of baser instincts. He was a writer and he got murdered for it. It's a dangerous turf. Sticking your head out to peek with your words and saying this is who I am. I've said it from my first interview and I'll keep saying it...everything you need to know are in my books. You'll find Wigs and Sunglasses between the commas and periods--thankfully, which has been edited to land in their proper places. The one rumor I can testify to is that I am crap at punctuation and spelling.

We've made a nice little family here. Each of us sitting behind our screens in whatever cocoon of pain, elation, suffering, loneliness -- whatever motivates us to go out in spirit through our words and connect here. That to me is a very spiritual connection, that is sacred to me. We carry each other in the breath between bad punctuation, the heartbreaks in our lives, the small victories, the miracles, I am here. I am a writer. And I'm glad you're there, doing the same.

In a murderous time
the heart breaks and breaks
and lives by breaking.
--Stanley Kunitz, The Testing-Tree