5:52 p.m.
Dear Diary,
I am spending more time online than ever. With all this free time, I have time for soul searching. I actually caught myself trying to find my "self" on line somewhere. Wondering if anyone ever wrote anything in the news about "ME". Turns out that the name Kelly *$%#@ was given to another person who actually made it to the Olympics, making any of my accomplishments seem minimal or minute. However, I did find these two articles written about me last year:
ARTS
BEST OF THE BAY 2001 Readers' Poll
http://www.weeklyplanet.com/2001-09-20/cover4.html
68. BEST POET
Kelly *&%$#@ Nobody who does or has done event listings for this paper can recall a local poet named Kelly &*%$#@, but that didn't stop Kelly +&*%$#@ from besting Poetry on the Edge hostess and poetess Diana Browning by 21 votes! Hey, far be it from us to accuse Kelly and his or her friends of ballot stuffing. It's a little strange and disconcerting, though, that Kelly bested such accomplished, respected and legit poets as Phyllis McEwen, Peter Meinke and even Tampa's Poet Laureate (do we really even need to say James Tokley's name anymore?). Maybe Kelly does most of his or her readings in the poetic sounding Land O' Lakes area.
and in response I found this online
Letters
http://www.weeklyplanet.com/2001-10-04/letters.html
OK, let me see if I have this correct: Each year you print a special edition featuring your staff's selections for the best of everything in Tampa Bay. You also have the Readers' Poll, where readers are asked to submit their ideas of what's best in the Bay. So after you receive and tabulate the readers' suggestions, you rip the readers for their suggestions?
Perhaps the majority of your readers prefer grabbing appetizers at a chain restaurant (Chili's) instead of a local establishment (New City). Perhaps the mysterious Kelly +*&^%$#@ is a creative and talented poet whose work you haven't read or heard before. Perhaps the local's idea of a "day trip" is merely spending a day at Busch Gardens. Perhaps, and here's a wacky idea, YOUR READERS HAVE DIFFERENT OPINIONS THAN YOURS!
But then again, why should you care what I think?
Matt Sammon
Tampa
I was surprised to find that anyone took time to write about me. It's great! I'm still searching the net to find anything that people wrote about me. I figure if they have figured me out enough to write a piece on me, maybe they can help me find my "SELF" somewhere along the line.....
