Dear Readers,
First and foremost, Thank You! Whether you are a weekly
reader, a periodic reader, or even if this is your first time reading my work,
Thank You. Without an audience, a writer is doing little more than creating a
diary.
Secondly, I am aware that not everyone is going to like
everything I write. Criticism, plain and simple, is just another aspect of
being an artist. To be honest, it’s tough to come up with something different
to write about every week, and therefore, I understand that not every piece I
produce will be outstanding. Some may even be considered by certain individuals
to be “in bad taste.” Just recently, I received a letter from someone who
couldn’t believe that I had the audacity to publish a certain story online. In
response, I will not apologize for writing satire, for I believe that satire is
one of the greatest tools a writer possesses, but I will apologize for
corrupting the Internet, because we all know that before jonpenfold.com, the
Internet was a truly pure and wholesome device that no one ever used to spread
filthy, obscene, hateful, or pornographic ideas and/or images. I guess I opened
a real Pandora’s Box. And for that I am sorry.
Thirdly, I’d like to talk real quick about what’s to come.
Many may remember that in 2015 I decided to concentrate mostly on stories. Some
were true. Some weren’t. Some were funny. Others, not so much. Well, for 2016, I’d
still like to concentrate on stories, but I’d also like to contribute more
essays. I know what some people may be thinking: Who cares what you (Jon Penfold) have to say? And you may be
partially correct. Why would anybody care what I have to say about anything? It’s
not like I’m a politician, or an actor, or a Kardashian. But maybe that’s what
makes my opinion so important—the fact that I am just a regular person, with a
blue-collar job, and bills that need to be paid. Are the opinions of regular,
everyday people not only important, but perhaps more important than those of
celebrities? I think they are, and I think, hopefully, that future generations will
someday look back at these opinions and better understand what our society was really like in the early twenty-first
century. Or they can just watch reruns of Duck
Dynasty…
Last but not least: In early 2015 I made a goal to have my
first book published by the end of the year. And, as a world-class
procrastinator, on December 31, 2015, my goal was met. As of right now, my
first book, The Road and the River: An American
Adventure is available for sale at: https://www.createspace.com/5935714.
(Or you can click the picture in the right hand corner of this website.) A
quick rundown of how this all happened: About five years ago, I concocted a
plan to ride my bicycle from Oregon to Minnesota, where I would then canoe down
the Mississippi River. The trip took me four months to complete. The book took
me two years to write. And the publishing process took another two years to
figure out. But now it’s available! So buy it! Read it! And tell your friends
and family about it! All royalties I make from it will go directly towards
funding my next adventure (more to come…). Thanks again! Or, for those readers from
other parts of the world: Dankie! Shukran! Do jeh! Xie xie! Tak! Kittos! Merci!
Efharisto! Grazie! Arigato! Dziekuje! Spasibo! Gracias!
Sincerely,
Jon Penfold
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