Have You Ever Wondered About What Your Fellow Medium Members are Really Like?

Profiles can’t reveal everything.

Photo by Julia Fiander on Unsplash

Last night, having trouble falling asleep, I began thinking about some of the people I engage with or have engaged with during my many-year journey on Medium. Do I really know who they are or what they stand for? Do I know how they spend their days, on or off Medium? Do I really want to know?

Most people I knew or interacted with when I first started writing here have vanished. I don’t know if they went elsewhere to write or quit this platform. I have remained in touch with only one of my acquaintances from the early days.

Presently, I can count on one hand the number of writers I would consider to be “friends” with, much like most of my Facebook “friends”. I think they know who they are.

I mostly learn about people through reading their profiles, but many times, these profiles don’t give an accurate picture. I truly get to know people when I read what they publish or through their comments.

I have discovered that a few people are not who they say they are. In one instance a fellow writer I read and followed, turned out to be rather homophobic. I am gay and liberal, and I don’t try to hide that fact. After publishing a few posts advocating gay rights, I noticed this person quit engaging with my stories. He suddenly started publishing stories where he pointed out that he was a “normal straight person”—a red flag.

Conversely, I got to know a writer, by whose profile, appeared to be a quiet and meek individual. But, in time, after reading her stories and comments, I found out she was really a liberal firebrand. I’m so happy I connected with her.

Sometimes, I wonder what some of the people I engage with do when they are not on Medium. Do they have a full-time job, a family, hobbies, etc.? There are writers who seem to be on Medium all day and all night long. They seem to be pumping out stories like a machine gun. Are they real people? Are they one person or a combination of people?

I didn’t intend to mention any names here, but I feel I must do so. I often wonder if he eats or sleeps or if he is a real person. He is quite a prolific writer, editor, reader, highlighter, and commenter, if he does indeed exist. I’m talking about Marcus Musick. He is what his writings and profiles say he is.

There are many wonderful people on this platform who we will never get the chance to know. I only wish there was a way to connect directly to them, such as a direct messaging option, other than leaving a private note on one of their stories. It would be nice if we could follow someone by seeing what interests or passions they have, instead of Medium suggesting articles to read. But I guess that is asking too much of Medium.

What do you think?

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How Do You Ruin a Perfectly Good Day?

Contact the DMV!

Photo by Yosh Ginsu on Unsplash

Today started off well. The rain had stopped, and the sun started peeking through the clouds. I felt energetic and made my way to the gym. 

When I came home for lunch, everything started going downhill. My husband told me that we never received the new vehicle registration for one of our cars. Since it was registered in my name, he asked me to contact the New York State DMV and get a copy. This sent shutters down my spine. Contacting the DMV is like running full speed into a brick wall!

I got onto my laptop and pulled up the DMV site. I logged in, and naturally, it said, “Incorrect user name or password.” Okay, I’ll say I forgot my password. Good. That didn’t take long. Finally, I was able to sign in.

All of my personal information, including my phone number and address, was correct. Great, I’m back in business. Now I have to check my registration. I click on “Vehicles,” and guess what? According to the DMV, I don’t have any cars! 

Then I remembered I had this same problem two years ago with the same registration. At that time, they discovered I had two DMV accounts, one with my middle name spelled out and the other with just my middle initial. The DMV representative told me she would merge the two accounts so I wouldn’t lose any information. Well, apparently, that never happened.

Now, I have to start all over with the same bullshit. There is no way to address the problem using the website, so I have to call. Calling the DMV could take years! After several unsuccessful attempts, I realized today is Veterans Day, and the office is closed! Oh great, tomorrow’s ruined too.

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Sharing Your Stories on Linkedin

Is it worth it?

Photo by Abid Shah on Unsplash

In my continuing quest to get more eyes on my stories, I have promoted my work on Facebook, X, and my personal blog. Some time ago, I heard that some writers use LinkedIn to promote their articles, but I never gave it much thought.

I rarely get views from using Facebook, and I think I’ve only had one view from sharing with X. I recently started a newsletter with Kit in an attempt to gain more readers. So far, that has not been fruitful. I’ve also changed my Facebook to the Professional mode.

It wasn’t until I received a great comment on one of my stories by one of our noted authors, Tyler Lubben BBA, who said he had used LinkedIn and gotten good results.

I’ve had a LinkedIn account since I was employed as a Cytologist, but after retiring, I rarely, if ever, used it. I have thought of promoting my stories there, but they didn’t seem to fit in with all the medical and hospital posts. To this day, I still get job offers, even though I have been retired for over 10 years.

Since I am retired and not interested in returning to work in my former career, I decided to close my professional account and open a new one devoted to promoting my Medium stories. I only created my new account yesterday, so I’m going to have to wait a while to see any results.

I’d love to hear from anyone who has had any experience using LinkedIn to share their work.

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If You Refuse to Stand Up for Your Rights,

Don’t expect others to!

Photo by Neil Thomas on Unsplash

I have always prided myself on advocating for the rights of others, especially immigrants, people of color, women, the handicapped, and, of course, the minority I belong to, the LGBTQ+ community.

For the past two years, I have listened to Donald Trump denigrate and demonize these very sane people. He has mocked a handicapped reporter called Latino immigrants, rapists, murderers, drug traffickers, and patients released from insane asylums.

He has bragged about banning abortions and taking away a woman’s right to control her own body. He and Vance have viciously attacked transgendered people and stoked fear of them among the electorate. He has accused Haitian immigrants of eating our dogs and cats long after the accusation was proven to be a lie.

He has referred to his female opponent and other female politicians as bitches, weak and of low intelligence. He hosted a large rally in Madison Square Gardens where no policy was discussed except for the mass deportation of immigrants and the advancement of hatred and bigotry.

The election is now over, and although millions more people registered to vote, there were millions fewer votes than in 2020. It has been reported that more than 20 million votes vanished and were never counted. This is strange, but I’ll leave this for others to ponder.

As we all now know, Trump won this election. And who were the ones who helped him win? Latino and white suburban women. The same ones he has spent over two years attacking as garbage and as poisoning the blood of our country. The same ones he has told that they are not able to determine their own reproductive health.

Sure, Trump got the vote of young males, thinking a vote for Trump would prove their masculinity. They didn’t have the balls to stand up for their wives, sisters, and daughters.

Let’s not forget those poor, uneducated people who voted for Trump because they thought he would pull them out of poverty. Here’s some news for you: According to Barron’s, Elon Musk’s wealth grew $26.5 billion the day after Trump was elected. What will your bank account look like next year?

Like millions, I am saddened by Trump’s win, but I am also pissed off by the stupid, ignorant people who voted for him. Yes, those are the people I have been fighting for for many years. It reminds me of the Jews who supported Hitler before the Holocaust, thinking he would take care of them. Well, he did take care of them -10 million of them!

If you are one of the minorities mentioned above who voted for Trump, I can no longer fight for your rights. If you can’t stand up for your own rights, don’t expect me and others to. You have to win back my trust.

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I Have a Hard Time Promoting My Articles,

Maybe I should try something different.

Photo by JJ Ying on Unsplash

I don’t know about you, but I have difficulty getting people to read my articles. If people can’t see them, they can’t read them. I share my stories on Facebook, X, and my blog, Steve Sovie’s World. I also tell my friends whenever I publish something they may be interested in.

I hardly ever get any results from sharing on X. Using Facebook, I see a little better results, but nothing great. I recently started a Newsletter to promote my stories within Medium. So far, I haven’t seen any results. For some reason, people click on the Medium subscribe icon instead of my huge Newsletter subscribe image.

When I tell my friends that I write on Medium, they say they have no idea what Medium is. No one I have ever talked to, either in my family, my neighbors, my long-time friends, or former colleagues, has ever heard of Medium. Why is that?

I consider most of my friends to be well-educated and informed, and many of them are avid readers. But they have no idea of what Medium is. Therefore, I not only have to convince them to read my articles but also to join Medium to do so. Convincing people to shell out money to read is the most difficult part.

After some thought about this matter, I have decided to change the way I promote my articles. While I promote my stories, I will also promote Medium. If people make the connection between my stories and Medium, they might be enticed to join Medium. It’s worth a try.

I would love to hear your thoughts about what I have written and what I intend to do.

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The Day After

I am still stunned!

Photo by Mark de Jong on Unsplash

I went to bed around 11 p.m. last night, but I knew it was over. I thought maybe a miracle would happen while I slept. I didn’t sleep well, and a miracle didn’t happen. When I woke up, I dreaded seeing the confirmation of my worst fears blasted all over the Internet. But I was prepared but heartbroken.

In the morning, I checked my Medium stats. There was little activity, and I wondered why. I saw a few stories where people shared their feelings about the country’s loss. I also saw a couple of stories joking about the loss—yes, from white privileged males.

For a while, I debated whether or not to write about my feelings after Trump’s win. I wasn’t sure what to say or if it was worth saying. Then, I became a little paranoid. Because I have been critical of Trump in the past, would writing another article move me up the list of those he seeks revenge on? It’s probably too late now.

I don’t know when the retribution begins or when the mass deportations start. Returning from the grocery store, I saw a Guatemalan woman walking on the sidewalk with her child. I wondered to myself how much time they had left to live here. We have a small community of Guatemalan immigrants living in our area. I’m sure they will soon disappear.

I know Trump wants to dismantle the government, but that should take some time. Hopefully, my husband and I will be safe. I don’t think our marriage will be nullified for some time, even though Alito and Thomas have plans to do just that.

What I worry about the most is the loss of Social Security and Medicare, both of which have been targeted by Trump, Speaker Johnson, and the rest of the GOP. They have tried to weaken or destroy it before, but now they have the votes and the Presidency to do it.

The people who have the most to fear are women, especially poor women of color, who cannot afford healthcare. Community centers serving such women, as well as poor members of the LGBTQ community, will lose their funding and slowly disappear. This will eventually cause a rise in homelessness.

I won’t mention how the map of Europe could change. When Trump lets Putin annex it, there may be one less country on the continent. Will Taiwan be next?

I’ve been through one Trump administration and survived. Now that he has near complete immunity, things will be different. I have no confidence or respect for the Supreme Court, the Justice System, or Congress to do the right thing. We are in this mess because of them. I used to believe that no man is above the law and that this country is a beacon for freedom, but no longer.

I’m sure half of this country is as happy as I was when Biden won in 2020. That half has demonstrated they prefer racism, hate, bigotry, and misogyny over democracy. I hope they get what they voted for. I will only say, “I told you so.”

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I’ve Always Wanted to Have an Elephant,

And I’ve always loved animals

a younger me.

When I was a young child, I had severe asthma, and it seemed like I was allergic to everything, especially animals. This was particularly difficult for me because I loved animals. When I went to an allergist at about 6, I discovered I was allergic to all animals with hair, fur, and feathers. To me, this was very cruel. I didn’t accept this and constantly begged my mother for a pet. I began to have weekly allergy shots, averaging about 6 shots per week, to desensitize me to everything I was allergic to. I took these shots for about ten years.

I can remember pleading with my mother to allow me to go to the Jefferson County Fair every summer, knowing full well that I would suffer an asthma attack because of the presence of the cattle and poultry exhibits. But I went anyway and always had an attack. I was even allergic to my cousins, who lived on a farm. I couldn’t have my cousin Jeff spend the night with me because I would have an attack.

I had a cat and the occasional hamster, which didn’t bother me much. I also had many turtles, snakes, lizards, fish, an alligator, and just about everything else that didn’t have fur or feathers.

There was one animal that did not have hair, or so I thought, and I really wanted one. This was an elephant. I lived in a small town, and we didn’t have an elephant at the zoo. I could only watch them on an old TV show, Marlin Perkin’s “Wild Kingdom”.

As time went on, my asthma subsided, and I was finally free to have more pets. I finally got a dog during high school, and we also had a cat. After graduating and getting a job in Boston, I got a dog, fish, and parrot. But secretly, I still wanted an elephant. I also began to develop a love for tigers. I knew I could never have either.

One of my best vacations was in Thailand. The highlights of that trip were a visit to an elephant sanctuary and a tiger farm. At the elephant sanctuary, I got close to elephants and even rode one for an hour. I was in heaven. After that, I wanted one even more.

When I visited the tiger farm, I held a six-month-old tiger cub. It was fantastic. Then, I was able to stand next to and pet a full-grown tiger. I really didn’t realize how big tigers were! After this experience, I gave up the idea of having a tiger as a pet. They are really beautiful animals, but they should never be kept as pets.

Me with a tiger cub in Thailand.

We should all strive to protect them in the wild. Sometime after this experience, I was saddened by the news that the tigers at the tiger farm had to be destroyed because of the bird flu that struck Asia then. However, I still desired to have an elephant and even fantasized about moving to Thailand to buy a house where I could have an elephant and hire a mahout to care for him.

I have visited Asia several times, including Chengdu, China, where I held a six-month-old panda. Shortly after my visit, the area suffered a major catastrophic earthquake, which traumatized many pandas.

I admire the WWF's work with the pandas in China. In 2007, I retired from my job in Boston and moved to Malaysia. The only elephants in Malaysia are found in Borneo, which is quite far from where I lived. I still wanted an elephant, even though I realized it was impossible.

At least in Malaysia, I didn’t have far to travel to see them in Borneo or Thailand. I had already visited the elephants in Thailand and, of course, the zoos in Malaysia. I had to settle for elephant souvenirs and figurines instead of the real thing. I still hold out hope that one day I will become filthy rich and be able to care for one!

I consider myself very lucky to have been able to interact with so many of the beautiful animals that I love. I now have two Quaker parrots, a saltwater aquarium, and my best buddy, Cato, who would be extremely jealous if I had another pet.

My buddy Cato, the Cattle Dog

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