This thread set me thinking about the strange friendships we build up on the Mudcat, and I remembered a song I wrote about that back in 1999, quite soon after I found my way here

THE BLUE CLICKY THING
I spied it one day, I was trawling the net,
a fish like a cat, what an elegant pet.
When I reached out to touch, me head started to spin -
I was off for a ride on the Blue Clicky Thing.
The Blue Clicky Thing, the Blue Clicky Thing,
it can take you away like a magical ring.
It can make you as free as a bird on the wing,
the Mudcat Cafe and the Blue Clicky Thing.

I was off on a ride and admiring the view,
there were places I got to that I never knew,
there were stories to hear, there were songs for to sing,
there were all kinds of folk in the Blue Clicky Thing.
The Blue Clicky Thing, the Blue Clicky Thing,
it can take you away like a magical ring,
It can make you as free as a bird on the wing,
the Mudcat Cafe and the Blue Clicky Thing

There are names you can mutter and photos to see,
of neighbours next door, 'cross the wide rolling sea,
and a tavern where you can drop in for a drink,
and gossip with friends, in the Blue Clicky Thing.
The Blue Clicky Thing, the Blue Clicky Thing,
it can take you away like a magical ring,
It can make you as free as a bird on the wing,
The Mudcat Cafe and the Blue Clicky Thing.

Well I try to explain, and you might understand,
it's a fine place to go to when you're feeling grand -
but when your heart's heavy, and you're shackled and pinned,
you can reach out for help with the Blue Clicky Thing
The Blue Clicky Thing, the Blue Clicky Thing,
it can take you away like a magical ring,
and holds us together like brown paper and string,
the Mudcat Cafe and the Blue Clicky Thing.

So I went back and looked at the thread (mudcat magic...), and there in the very next post was katlaughing, such a kind welcoming response - and I'll print the rest of the post, kat being encouraging to someone who was a bit down:

Oh Kevin, thank you for that. It's been a very, very blue day here, for me and your sonyg just made me smile. Why don't you sing it and send it to Max, for the radio show? Then Rick Fileding can really go down in history; he will never live down the fact that it was himself who coined the term, "blue clicky thing(ie).
Steve, young women or ones without too much experience with "hunks" or whatever, may feel that way about sensitive men, but those of us who've been there, done that, learn we are none of us exactly as hoped for and we learn to compromise through the eyes and heart of love. This is damn hard to do, sometimes, like today, but still it seems worth it in the long run, esp. after a history together. I love attractive men, which I consider all of you Mudcatters to be, BUT that is not what attracts me to want to know a man more. Rather it is the depth of his feelings, emotions, beliefs, opinions, listening ability, willingness to forgive and/or apologise, perception, ability to "read" emotions and to act upon that whether he feels like it or not, sometimes, etc., etc. that would make me want to know a whole lot more about that man. These are not impossible standards...almost everyone of you here have demonstrated them repeatedly. Women get tired of men expecting them to be fashion-plate bimbos, with the starved, pre-pubescent body look of Madison ave. Some of us eschewed such strictures a long time ago and have been wearing purple, Birks, and all cotton, even our undies, for years, in a bid for comfort and independence from all pervasive mass media. Thank gawd I found the Mudcat where that seems to be more the norm than t'other!

katstilldepressedbutfeelingbetter|