Me and Johnny Fever??

Eighteen years ago today, I started publishing this blog. My initial goal was to make it last a year. I thought that writing this would give me enough material to put together for that book that almost everyone claims that they are going to write. Zig Ziglar used to say that he thought that everyone should write a book. He didn't think that you needed to get it published. He believed the purpose of writing was to tell your story.

Ziglar died a few years ago and I am certain that he never read this blog. I know this because I never got a note or a call from Zig pleading with me to stop writing. 

According to the stats that Google provides, I have published 964 articles. I have had 66635 visitors from more than 26 countries. I am reminded of the WKRP episode where Dr. Johnny Fever told listeners to end a garbage strike by dumping their trash at City Hall.  He was so shocked when he found out that people listened to him, he froze up on the air. You don't have those issues if you just type and run like I do.

I get comments from readers sometimes on the blog. I sometimes get e-mails from friends and relatives. I hear from some people when I have not written in a while. What actually stuns me is when someone writes something and posts a link to my blog. You're quoting me, are you serious?

Retirement has made it easier to write with more time available. But retirement has also reduced my contacts with stupid people, the subject of many posts. Now I have to depend on politics and religion for a lot of my posts. 

Why do I write?

1. Sometimes it just has to be said.

2. It brings my blood pressure down when I am pushing stroke level. Actually, I am currently having an issue where my blood pressure drops too low. That is when my wife sends me into the living room to watch the news or if it is really low, she turns it to PBS.

3. I am actually still working on that book Zig told us to write.

4. I gave up Facebook to save my computer's life.

5. It's a cheaper release than shooting the television every time something comes on that pisses me off.

6. It serves as a resource for readers. If someone calls you crazy, you just say "I will show you crazy!". Then send them a link to this blog.  There's no charge for this.

Mostly, I write this because I enjoy it. I was on the school newspaper staff in the ninth grade and loved it. Norma Lobato was our journalism teacher. We learned a lot from Mrs. Lobato. Several years ago, at an auction, I bought a copy of the textbook that we used. I didn't have to spend a lot of money on it, I was the only bidder.

When I was in elementary school, I got an Ideal brand toy, The Big Press, for Christmas. I wore that thing out in a couple of years printing all kinds of stuff. In high school, I had an old Royal manual typewriter and an AB Dick spirit duplicator (Ditto machine) with which I printed a neighborhood paper. Writing an online blog is easier than either of those ventures. By the way, several years ago I found a Big Press for sale online and bought it. It lives on a shelf above my memories cabinet with my journalism book. 

Thank you for reading this blog.