Mystery Blogger Award

Ilene of the Cancer Bus has nominated me for the Mystery Blogger Award.

Thank you so much Illene.  This is truly an honor.  Illene discovered this blog when I wrote about insurance companies making decisions for cancer patients. In our communications, I feel as if I’ve known Illene for a very long time.  She is an amazing person who shares her journey living with metastatic breast cancer on her blog, Cancer Bus.

The Mystery Blogger Award was created by Okoto, who describes the award as;

 

WHY DID I CREATE THE AWARD?
I created the award because there are a lot of amazing blogs out there that haven’t been discovered, yet. And, most of these blogs deserve recognition. For that reason, I decided to create my own award; and nominate people who can also nominate others; and so on. This is one of the best ways to create a friendly community and build a link between bloggers in the blogosphere; as everyone gets nominated and they too can spread the fun by nominating more people for the award.

I decided to call the award “Mystery Blogger Award.” Why? Because the meaning of my name, “Enigma” is “mystery.” So basically, it’s named after myself; the creator. Plus, I think it’s cool because there are so many blogs that are still a mystery to us; and when we get to know them, it’s divine! And we find friends where we least expect.

WHAT IS MYSTERY BLOGGER AWARD?
“Mystery Blogger Award” is an award for amazing bloggers with ingenious posts. Their blog not only captivates; it inspires and motivates. They are one of the best out there, and they deserve every recognition they get. This award is also for bloggers who find fun and inspiration in blogging; and they do it with so much love and passion.
– Okoto Enigma

Rules:
Put the award logo/image on your blog.
List the rules.
Thank whoever nominated you and provide a link to their blog.
Answer the questions from the blogger who nominated you.
Mention the creator of the award and provide a link as well
Tell your readers 3 things about yourself.
You have to nominate 10 – 20 people
Notify your nominees by commenting on their blog
Ask your nominees any 5 questions of your choice; with one weird or funny question (specify)
Share a link to your best post(s)

Three things about myself;

I was born and raised in Chicago.

I completed high school at the age of 17.  I modeled for Montgomery Ward and my first full-time job was in a hospital as a Ward Clerk, now called Health Unit Coordinator.  Nurses there encouraged me to go to nursing school, and I did go as far as orientation and a tour, which convinced me that I was not called into nursing.  Since the age of 12, I wanted to be a journalist and that was my first college major.  Decades later, I still,  don’t know what I want to be when I grow up.

I am the youngest of 4 children, with the oldest sibling being 23 years older than myself.

Illene’s questions for me and other nominees are:

“Write a haiku about being nominated for a blogger award and title the haiku with the cartoon character with whom you most relate.”

I wouldn’t be able to write a haiku if you held a gun to my head.

“What’s your superpower and how do you use it for good not evil?”

When I think of superpower, I think of something that goes beyond being human.  I have abilities such as research and patience, but they are not powers or super human.

“Do you believe in a spiritual world or some kind of afterlife? If yes describe, if not why do you believe this is all there ? ( not just a one word “no” answer for the atheists nominees.”

Yes, I do believe in a spiritual world. Since the God I know is omnipresent, I believe that spiritual realms exist right here on planet earth.  Explaining what I believe about an afterlife will probably sound like a sermon, so here is a summary. The Bible says that all spirits return to God who gave them.   I don’t know what happens in the afterlife.  What I do know is that the Apostles had no fear of what was to become of them after physical death.

“What’s the best place in the world you’ve ever been and why should anyone go there? Convince me. Plane tickets are a good way to convince me. (Joke. The last part.)”

The best place I’ve ever been was Las Vegas.  I like a city that does not sleep.

“What are the top 10 songs that make you feel good when you’re down, or inspire you, or you just love to listen to anytime or all the time.”

I would have to name about a hundred songs that inspire me. Seldom do I listen to the same song each time I’m down or want to be inspired. I don’t know if any of them ever made it to the top ten on any song chart.  Of my favorites are:

Make Somebody Happy by Santana

Smile by Kirk Franklin

Sunshine by Labelle

Anything sung by Glenn Kaiser

Anything sung by Kirk Whalum

Anything sung by Mike Farris

Anything sung by Bob Carlise (with and after the Allies)

The song that played at the end of the movie, Tears of the Sun

Love You With My Life by Bryan Duncan

Take This Song by Third World

“Share a link of your best post(s)”

I’ll take the top two of what is my best posts by the number of visits.

32 Guards Fired From The Florida Department of Corrections.   As of Oct. 4, 2019, it has received 33,786 views.

The Jeffrey Dahmer Victim Who Did Not Have To Die.  As of Oct. 4, 2019,  it has received 26,570 views and has been referred to by writers and on blog radio.diff

Through the years, selecting nominees for peer to peer awards has become difficult.   That’s because some bloggers have award free blogs.  Others are using themes that do not allow for displaying awards and still some others do not know how to display awards.  In addition, it just becomes difficult for me to decide who should or shouldn’t be nominated.  The following nominations are made because I believe the bloggers deserve it, and have made a fairly recent appearance on my blog by way of clicking “like” or posting a comment.   My nominees are:

Tony Burgess https://tonyburgess1969.net/

Dhananjay Parkhe   https://parkhe.com/

Michael Lai  https://retireediary.wordpress.com/

Angela Grant, https://failuretolisten.com/

Cindy Knoke https://cindyknoke.com/

Robert Vella  https://thesecularjurist.wordpress.com/

Takami Ibara  https://tibaraphoto.wordpress.com/

Carol Hand https://voices-from-the-margins.blog/

Paulie  https://lifeinmyyears.com/

Lionel Sneed  https://lionelsneedministries.com/

Pat  https://beholdinghimministries.org/

Ospreyshire https://ospreyshire.wordpress.com/

Thanks again, Ilene, and thanks to all followers and visitors.