Who's Afraid of Margaret Atwood?

I'm hyperactive tonight. Nervous about my husband's first round of chemo in the morning, I suppose. Oh, the books I could write about our journey with Stage IV colon cancer. And we haven't even started treatment.

Anyway, I turned tonight to Facebook and Twitter for distraction. Facebook is great for light interaction with family and friends, but Twitter demands a different attention. And I have yet to understand how it all works. I follow a few people, but not many. My life is cluttered enough and tangential noise from unknown others is something I invite only in increments.

But I do follow those with writing interests, and writers, including Margaret Atwood - an author who has influenced my life in many ways. I love her works, of course. And I love that she seems to have successfully negotiated the academic community. My 23-year journey through that wretched abyss ended in early retirement due to post-traumatic stress. But that is another series of blog posts.

Margaret Atwood is an active Twitter user, and actually interacts with followers. Unfortunately, she and other literate twitterers Tweet in phrases and symbols that are as indecipherable to me as Egyptian hieroglyphics.

Maybe I'm slow, but it has become apparent that I not only have to write compelling stuff, but that I also must develop razor-edge social networking skills. Not just the language, but the culture, attitude, and tech aptitude of a 21-year old MIT grad student.

Believe me, I'm up to the task. Margaret did it, and so can I.

Perhaps she said it best in The Handmaid's Tale: "Don't let the bastards grind you down."