I HAVE BEEN HIT NEARLY 1000 TIMES

Ok, so Derek Jeter has 3000 hits. But it only took me 15 months to get close to 1000. At this rate I will reach 3000 much faster than Mr. Jeter. I just wish I was getting paid what he gets paid for each hit. Here is a statistical anomaly, I got nearly 1000 hits with just 30 “at bats.” I guess this where the analogy breaks down – but it was fun trying to make this work. Ah, let’s keep it going, one more shot: Some of my hits have been characterized as home runs, bunts, walks and even some strike outs. The goal, for me, was to get up to bat. That meant writing on some subject or idea was the goal not how far the idea would travel. And sometimes writing is also a therapeutic exercise, but the “at bat” still counts. I’ll get to more of about that later.

Watching the “hits” counter is very gratifying. It is like watching a stock go up – but unlike stocks, the hit counter cannot go down – so this is much better than watching stocks. In the “stats” area I can see how the blog site was accessed and from where and which of the blogs is getting the most reads.

It did take me a while to realize that the longer the blog has been published the more reads it will get, so the most read blog is the first one I wrote in May 2010. I can tell you that it was exciting and I really enjoyed kicking off Much Ado About Some Things. I discovered that posting is fun!

One of the blogs I posted was Who Reads This Stuff? I don’t have their names and addresses but I do know in which countries I am being read. At last count I have been read in 17 different countries. From Malaysia to Iran, from Malta to Latvia, from China to Kuwait – my words have been read. That is an ego trip. When I started this blog never gave it any thought as to who might read my stuff. It just never occurred to me that I would get almost worldwide attention. And, I only write in English!

I have been asked why I do I write a blog. I have advertising on the site. It is an advertising medium. And so far the income from the ads hasn’t been sufficient to cover the cost of the paper that I am typing this blog on. The point is that I do not do it for the money. The fun is knowing that you can get breast implants right here at Much Ado About Some Things. (If you want to buy something from Amazon log on to Amazon from here. You can open a bank account, get health insurance - if you can get health insurance- all from this site. You can buy some computer products as well.) As of now I have not seen a cent from any of the ads – so once again, I am not doing it for the money.

My photo is on the blog and so far I have had not one person come up to me and say they know me! Not even my kids. So fame, along with money as a motive is also out!

I like intellectual stimulation. I like to formulate thoughts and ideas and often I take an opposite position of my thinking to get some validation from the argument or acquire more points so validate my thinking. I do want to persuade with my writing, but it is not a paramount goal. I like providing some food for thought based on my point of view and my research. And yes, some of it is based on emotion. If I can change your mind, great. If I don’t, at least you know my thinking.

Writing is therapeutic. There was a time in my life that days were pretty bleak emotionally. So, when things got heavy, I took a break and stopped to write. I wrote how I felt, how I saw things and how I would like to see things. I wrote general reflections. It was an opportunity to express myself privately without having someone trying to reassure me. Sometimes you just have to get it out and that alone is reassurance. Recalling that positive outcome from just sitting down and putting words to paper (computer screen) I decided that while I don’t have the same emotional needs as then, it is fun to vent. So, why not do it again?

The exercise of writing is sufficient reward for the effort – but to be read nearly 1000 times in 17 different countries – that is special, at least to me. For all those reasons, and more, I decided to write a blog. I like what I write, now it s up to you to decide if you like what I write.

PS. I would really be remiss if I failed to report that the manager of my favorite Baseball team, the Red Sox, got his 1000th win today. Go Sox!