Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Guest post: Dan Felstead: Puzzle Solver

I'm supposed to be in Boston this week, and several of you very kindly wrote fantastic guest posts to be used while I was gone. Because that trip has been postponed, I'll be using those posts occasionally, instead of all in one week.

Today I think you'll enjoy a post by Dan Felstead. Dan is also a photographer and blogger, and it's worth your time to check out his blog, Wood and Pixel Narratives. Thank you, Dan, for taking the time to write this guest post!

And now, in Dan's own words....

*******

To the hardcore visitors of Beth's blog....

This is a great opportunity to step out on a limb and try to solve a puzzle that has been bugging me for months. In Beth's post about her leaving for Boston...she unwittingly gave me the final clue I needed to make the connection and finally be at peace.

Here is the puzzle:

Does Beth have a sister? Is this her cousin? It this her twin? It is Beth in incognito? What is the deal here???

Here is the answer:

Ever since I have had the pleasure to enjoy all of Beth's blogs and podcasts, I like so many others... read the comments and have made some great friends by interacting. As I often read the comments, I noticed a person posting now and then by the name of "Beckiwithani". When I first saw the avatar...I thought it was Beth but not quite??? Something was different...not much...but enough to know that nope...it's not Beth. Every time I saw the Avatar, I thought Wow...the likeness is amazing.

Photobucket Photobucket

Hallelujah! When I saw Beth was going to Boston to visit her sister BECKI...I quickly went to Beckiwithani's profile and there it was....one of Beckiwithani's partners was none other than C.Beth and one of her blogs were about "Twins" and she is from MASSACHUSETTS! Oh yeah, I got it...I clicked blog about twins and lo and behold...it was for "Invited visitors only". I was never so happy to be turned down on visiting a blog in my life because it all came into focus.

Beckiwithani is C. Beth's twin sister and with so many folks following the One minute writer et al....she just needs some privacy now and then. Mystery solved.

TA DA! Oh, I feel like such a paparazzi!

Dan

18 comments:

Strange Mamma said...

LOL How fun. I have to admit, too, to doing a bit of pondering on all the familial relations that have popped up on this blog. Soon after I started blogging, another relation over at Dwell & Cultivate popped up and I have greatly enjoyed getting to know this talented, warm, and loving family. You are all in my prayers.

Bri said...

LoL Add me to the puzzle solver list... I always read Becki's screenname as Becki with Ani. That is until I went over to her blog and saw that her husband's name starts with a D and her daughter's name is Molly (which could be a made up name for the blog but she wouldn't use the real name in her name, would she?). Now I was left wondering who was this Ani? Then it hit me... duh! It's Becki with an I!!! Yup, I'm a little slow sometimes :p

SciFi Mama said...

LOL! Great post. I must be pretty slow, I never read Beckiwithani as Becki with an i. Knowing Beth's sense of humor, I just assumed Becki was giving us some sort of funny screen name. And this is coming from someone who has known Beth has a twin for about 3 years now!

Strange Mamma said...

Hahaha...I totally first read it as Becki with Ani too! It was only recently I realized the error of my ways. So, do great minds think alike or do fools seldom differ?

Call Me Cate said...

My big "aha" moment was when I realized that C Beth is also One Minute Writer. I had found OMW ages ago but never put the two together once I discovered this blog completely independently.

It also took me awhile to get that it was Becki - with an I. Because I'm pretty slow sometimes.

Dan Felstead said...

I can't believe it...here I thought I was a super sleuth and had solved all the questions in the universe and guess what...I thought it was Becki with Ani also!!! I never even gave any thought to Becki with an I...they are sly little suckers aren't they! Thank you Bri for making my day!

Dan

Dani said...

Dan, aren't you the little cyber-sneak! I too was always wondering about how they resembled each other so much! And it too was C. Beth's post about the trip being postponed because of the death in the family that gave me a clue. She put a link to her sister's site where a beautiful post was in tribute to the one who passed. It was Beckiwithani! And ...I always read that as Becki Withani (as in a strange last name or something...) LOL! Thanks for the enlightenment! I figured they were just sisters that looked so much like each other...but TWINS! Dan, you surpass my cyber-sneaking technique by cyber-miles! :)

beckiwithani said...

Wow, I think this is the first time that so many people I don't know have written about me. Thanks for the laugh.

The best interpretation of my screen name I ever heard was, "Oh. I just figured you were Native American, because 'Withani' sounds like a Native American last name."

Dan Felstead said...

Becki...I never thought about it but I guess it IS sort of strange to have all of us translating your name and posting pictures of you and acting as if you are not even here! It was truly fun when the light finally came on! And the revelation about your online name was an added treat for me today!

Dan

septembermom said...

Dan, you are a true Sherlock Holmes! This is a fun and "enlightening" guest post!

C. Beth said...

I have been highly entertained reading these comments today, just as I was entertained upon first reading Dan's guest post!

Heather--Thank you for the warm, kind comment. :) The prayers are always appreciated! Also--"fools seldom differ"--haven't heard that but I like it.

Bri--Well, apparently you weren't alone! Sounds like others are glad that you solved the "puzzle" of Becki's screenname! Ha!

SciFi Mama--Very funny! Does your life feel more complete now that you know what beckiwithani means? ;)

Call Me Cate--Now, I didn't realize you had found my blogs independently! That is really, really odd. How interesting!

Dan--Another puzzle solved! You and Bri should have a PI firm together!

Dani--"strange last name or something"--ha! Love this!

Becki With An I--That is HILARIOUS.

septembermom--I'm glad you were enlightened by Dan's super sleuthing!

Fannyfanackapan said...

Well Done Dan. Mystery solved. I too had seen Beckiwithani (who I thought was just Becki Withani) and CBeths avatars on twitter and thought, gosh don't they look like each other. Now all is explained.

Really enjoyed the post and the comments.

Good fun!

Lindsay @ Makely said...

hahahahaha Too funny! Those of us who know Beth in real life, but not her sister, are always floored when we remember that Beth has a twin. Crazy, huh!

Anonymous said...

I have really enjoyed all the chatter about my "2 little twins"!! It's always been fun having them as identical twins. Lots of interesting moments thoughout their growing up years. Lots of mix-ups and also a switching of classes one whole day. Fun, fun. -Mom of the twins
(It won't take my google account so guess I'll just sign this as Anonymous, but it really IS ME!!!)

Unknown said...

Are they twins? (Same size, dressed alike, in twin stroller.)
Boys or girls? (Dressed in frilly pink.)
Did you know you were going to have twins? (For just a few weeks.)
Do you have twins in the family? (Their mom does.)

Actually, when they were beginning to talk, they called themselves Buff (Beth) and Bucky. We still refer to them that way often.

Love, Dad

ACitizenOfThisWorld said...

Haha! Clever post! :) seems like everyone was somehow wondering about this mystery.

I too was confused with their being so much like each other for the first few weeks of following C.Beth's blog. I realized that they are twin sisters when I read a few of C.Beth's older posts. In one of them she mentions she has a twin sister.

And the first time I knew it is "Becki with an i", rather than "Becki with Ani" was when I listened to C.Beth's podcast in which she mentions the name! :D

Kristi said...

This post has me cracking up! Being a Kristi with an i, I was well aware of what your sister's screen name was/meant. I feel like I live under a rock sometimes, so being "in the know" is kind of cool! Yep, that's me...cool, Kristi with an i!!!! :)

Wait...You and Becki are twins?? LOL!!

Bri said...

Sam - I get the "are they twins?" question a lot in regards to my two youngest. They aren't actually twins, but they are about the same size (one boy, one girl so they don't dress alike) and only 11 months apart. I also got the "boy or girl?" question when it was blatantly obvious. I think everyone does at least once.

Dan - Glad I could help!

Beth - Hmmm, PI? I'm not a very observant person... but I can put two and two together, sometimes. ;)