This is the mask I wear when I wander the corridors of the blogosphere.
With it, I say what I feel deep down inside of me.
Without it, I say what people expect of me.
The true me, then, is the man behind the mask.
(Exactly 45 words)
Written for Sammi Cox’s Weekend Writing Prompt, where we are challenged to write a poem or piece of prose using the word “mask” in exactly 45 words.
This, That, and the Other 
Masks make my face sweaty.
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Even metaphorical ones?
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Well said.
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I think your writing is super and don’t need the mask lol.
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Thanks, Nova. That’s very kind of you to say.
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Your new identity is now how we all see you. The funny part is when I get the email from Fandango, the movies site, I get confused for a moment as to which one is it from! 🤪
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Now showing on my blog….
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Yep!
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Cleverly expressed!
What was it about Manny that inspired you to choose him as your mask?
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To be perfectly honest, I just liked the graphic. I selected it because, when I was starting this blog and was looking for a pseudonym, I was listening to Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” and heard them use the word “Fandango” in the lyrics and it clicked. I Googled “Fandango” and that image came up and sealed the deal — the pseudonym and the avatar.
That said, until I read your comment, I wasn’t even aware that there was a character, Manny Calavera, as a protagonist in a video game. I’d never heard of that game and never played it. Ever! I Googled “Fandango Manny” and read all about it. So thank you, Ursula, for enlightening me. I may have to download the iOS version “Grim Fandango” for my iPhone.
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I’m been pondering your wee missive ever since I first read it. You said:
I’m curious. Your stated opinions are fairly consistent with a leftist, progressive perspective, you live in one of the most liberally oriented cities in the world, I can’t imagine your family and friends don’t have opinions coinciding with your own, so what are you like without the mask and why?
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I have met and keep in touch with a lot of people over the years and many don’t share my political perspectives. I know a remarkable number of people who voted for and, inexplicably, still support Trump. I know a number of people who embrace the conservative ideology. I just don’t talk politics or religion with them. If I want to maintain their acquaintanceship, I bite my tongue around them and talk about the weather. I just posted a rant about Trump and what I said in that post I would not say to people in the real world, other than my immediate family and closest friends.
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That makes us very different I suppose, since while I try to be polite and reasoned, in my blogging, what you see is (pretty much) what you get. I’m just finished a missive on my religious blog about how once can accept the scientific method and also accept the existence of God.
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Yes, we are very different, starting with the fact that I blog anonymously and you don’t. For the most part, though, I do try to be polite and respectful in my posts, although I don’t always succeed. I will go read your post. Sounds like it should be fascinating.
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Yes, we disagree often, and no, I don’t consider you impolite or disrespectful. I can only imagine you celebrate some form of Christmas with your family (I don’t since my wife is Jewish, and I’m totally good with it), so if you do, have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
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Have a happy holiday and a happy New Year, James.
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