Why so many negative letters every time Mr. Keillor's articles are run in Salon?

What's up with all the hating? This man is a writer. It's what he does for a living. Some would say he's a GREAT writer. His columns, including this one, are (usually) supposed to be amusing (He'll let you know if he's being serious). See, he's joking around when he talks about running away from his houseguests. Geesh, people, come on!!

I totally agree that we all need time alone. I was struck by the last column of Steven Wells before passing from cancer. Like Mr. Keillor, he seemed more concerned with the mundane concerns of life, even at the end, then the "big questions."

He will be missed. His last column can be read:

http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/news-and-opinion/in-extremis/Steven-Wells-Says-Goodbye-49054426.html

Dr Marti Laney, "The Introvert Advantage"

http://www.theintrovertadvantage.com/advantage.html

Don't be put off by the cutsie-pie cartoon near the top of that page, it really is an excellent book. As a greater proportion of people tend to be extroverted (gaining energy from interaction) and can find introverts (gaining energy from solitude) hard to understand, they've attached certain negative connotations to the minority, as being somehow "weird" or "anti-social". But take pride in being a deeper thinker - you are amongst the less common 25% of people whose brain processes data more thoroughly!

What a great article. I'm surrounded by people at the gym every morning. I'm surrounded by people at work all day. I'm surrounded by people sitting in traffic. I'm surrounded by people when I run errands. I relish my alone time...I don't have to be polite, I don't have to hold a conversation, I don't have to think about how my actions/words may affect those around me, I can be naked or clothed, happy or sad, all wound up or mellow - however I am at the moment. I travel often for work and usually find myself with a night or two without coworkers planning my every second for me...I take advantage of those nights by going to a bar alone, having a few beers and getting a good meal. I can choose to talk to my neighbor or I can choose to bury my nose in a book or magazine - it's very liberating and I'm very comfortable. I know many, many people who are just the opposite. I often comment that my mom and brother can barely stand to go to the bathroom alone, let alone travel, shop or just hang out and watch TV alone. I like company and when I'm in social situations, I'm outgoing and chatty - but on my terms. I get picked on for being a bit of a loner and called weird for doing so much on my own, like traveling and bike-riding, but it's so nice to have that time. It's nice to know I'm not the only loner weirdo out there!

GK - your essay reminded me of another printed in the Times a few years back:

http://www.nytimes.com/2000/06/08/opinion/essay-too-much-in-touch.html

His politics aside, Safire's observations about our worldly connectedness mirror my own views on the subject and (if I may be so presumptuous) seem to mirror yours as well.

I must say, being unemployed for a few months is one of the best things that ever happened to me. Hell, I didn't even look for a job during that time. I just needed to be alone, and work some stuff out. Now that I'm looking again, I know that I'll do better on interviews, and that I'm comfortable enough with my own head to do well on the job.

Firstly, Garrison, if you're going to be rude and refuse to entertain our guests during their visit, simply don't have guests. Problem solved. No, you DON'T get to "be alone" while you are supposed to be entertaining. If you don't want company, don't have company. Those people came to see you. Didn't your mama teach you any manners?

Secondly, I suspect that you're really channeling Gov Sanford. Who of course needed to get away to be alone. First he was hiking. Can't a man just get back to nature and hike and think and crap? I mean, and be all manly and stuff? No, then he was writing. He needs solitude to write, to think deep thoughts, to get away from the bickering kids (ever heard of babysitters?). Bet his wife would like to get away from those bickering kids... and the reporters.

But the truth was, he was fucking some "devout Christian woman" whom he had fallen into an "impossible love" with in Argentina. PPBBHHTT! Score one for hypocrisy. Too bad he got to be alone, away from his wife and kids and those annoying guests he chose to invite: the people of SC.

I read all your columns and like them all,but this one is the best in a long time. You spoke from my heart and, I suspect, from the heart of many.

Solitude is exactly why I moved my haggard self deep into the patchwork bowels of rural Ohio.

I like my solitude a bit different.

From time to time, I will immerse myself in temporary social excesses to heights that crush the infinite banality of the average-normal-ordinary being.

This is good, occasionally, because the emotions can stagnate under solitude. Too much oneness miniaturizes the world.

While the other end, too much interaction with the typical and ordinary dulls the senses and a lifeless conformity takes hold that is impossible to exorcise.

People, in my view, are possessed mostly with massive amounts of material so utterly predictable that I almost wish one of them would forcefully punch me square in the face JUST so I could escape them, though such an extreme act of deviation would be such a cause for marvel the inquisition of the individual would hinder my flight.

My travels in thought, deed, and experience radiate FROM the base camp of solitude.

Nice piece.

I can only imagine how much a celebrity needs solitude. It probably seems that everyone wants a piece of you. I understand solitude. How can we live in a balanced manner without bits of solitude scattered throughout your day or week? To see how we fit into the scheme of things, we need to experience inclusion and sovereignty, and be comfortable with both. We can be inspirationally fed through the company we keep, the strangers we meet, or by the emptiness of a lone bench in the park. It all makes us who we are, or who we aspire to be. Good article.