The Presses May Have Stopped & Thank YOU Supporters

Well, it's been quite a week here at Free Mechele. I don't think I'm going to link back to all the articles that appeared this past week, just because it seems too self-referential and like too much work. Suffice it to say, we were in Alaska Daily News (ADN), The Olympian, Seattle Times (I think?), KOMO, and others. Lots of comments on all those, as usual. The hunger for Mechele news seems to be great. (Some of my favorite commenters are the ones who say they are so sick of reading about her. Perhaps maybe the better choice would then be to stop reading and commenting. But, I digress.)

The articles began because I told Megan Holland at ADN about the site, thinking she would add a sentence to some article she might write in the future. I had no idea our little site here would be the focus of an article that would then be picked up all over the place. Tuesday and Wednesday we had over 6000 hits on this blog. That is a LOT.

Thanks to everyone for checking us out and for the positive comments. Keep them coming. They mean a lot to Mechele and her friends and family. Some people have bought from the Free Mechele store. Some people have sent Mechele things from her Amazon list. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! We are all so very grateful for your kindness.

I do want to clarify something about Mechele's Amazon wish list. Most of the things on there are specifically chosen by me for Mechele. The list was one of my ideas in response to the question we often get, "What can I do to help?" I know that reading is a big comfort to her. Initially, I just meant to share it with friends and family. But when we put up this site, I figured we might as well take it to a larger audience since so many kind people like to help.

As far as how the list was/is created. I update it occasionally based on conversations with and letters I get from Mechele. She will generally tell me one or two specific titles that I add and then rate those as the highest priority. She then tells me much more general things, such as "classics like Tolstoy, Louisa May Alcott, Owen Wister, Thoreau, etc." and "books on data collection" or "college level coloring books" With those directives, I then search Amazon for things I think fit her parameters and that she will like. In the course of those searches, I then sometimes find new things that, as her friend, I'm pretty sure she will like. I then add those. So, the list is a conglomeration of specific things she has asked for, things I pick based on general requests, and things I just sorta stumble upon that I think she'd like. I then prioritize them as such.

To summarize:
Highest priority = she asked for this title
High priority = she asked for a general thing like this and I think she'll really like this one
Medium = she asked for things like this or I just think she'll like it

There is something like 88 items on there right now. That's all my doing. I don't want anyone to think she's greedy. She hasn't asked for that many. I just like to have options. If you use the links I provide to the amazon list, the items should be listed by priority.

There's still a possibility of getting posts in here from Mechele and/or Colin. I don't have a timeline for when it might happen, but when it does, I'll be sure to post.

Thanks again everyone!!!