BEWARE: Shameless pimpage below

I just posted a long diary over at Daily Kos about my experiences when my stepdad went on a labor strike that lasted four years. It's something I've been working on for awhile, and it's the first time I've ever written about that experience. I hope you'll check it out, if you're interested, and maybe recommend it if you're registered over there and you think it's worthy.

(As I said, shameless pimpage.)

ETA: Made it (nearly) to the top of the recommended list! And that's higher than I dared hope; I expect by the time many of you read this tomorrow, it'll have been pushed off the list, but I hope you'll go read it anyway. I was inundated with a wave of insightful and encouraging comments that've inspired me to expand this essay further and spread it around to other blogs, possibly even to some publications. We'll see where it goes....

ETA2: Jordan over at Confined Spaces graciously excerpted parts of the diary and linked it (and also crossposted over at NathanNewman.org). I've also been responding to some emails from other readers and the essay may be destined for a printed publication...stay tuned.

ETA3: Well, the excitement continues apace. I submitted a slightly revised version of the original diary to several online communities that have a similar structure as DailyKos and it's hopefully being seen by more eyes. To wit:

• One America Committee (currently on the front page under the "Open Mic" section, will eventually be archived under "Arguments & Analyses" and cross-indexed in other sections) -- this is a particular honor, since it's John Edwards' community blog (or more specifically, what his official campaign site became after the 2004 election) and since he was my candidate in the '04 Primaries.
• Political Cortex (currently on the front page, will eventually be archived under "Frontal Lobe")
• Booman Tribune (entered as a diary, may or may not make it to the Recommended List)
• MyDD (entered as a diary, may or may not make it to the Recommended List)
• My Left Wing (entered as a diary, made it to the Recommended List)
• Benny's World (blogger who linked it from the One America Committee site)