The "Bloggin' Celebration" Story

Wearing my favorite red shirt.  I still wear it
throughout the summer months as well as on
the many vacations I have been lucky enough
to go on in the past.

It was an ordinary day.  Surfing through some of my old stories when I opened my very first story from 2009.  Checked the date and realized that five years ago this past September 2nd I posted my first story on Blogspot.com.  Story about my Grandpap taking me to Roots Sale, a farmer's market in Lancaster County, PA, and coming home with a family of white rats.  Fun story that really happened years and years ago.  My poor mom was terrified of the rats and I suspect my Grandpap knew she would be when he bid on them during the auction.  Hard to believe that it's been over five years ago that I began my blog.  All started when my wife and I had been to a movie titled Julie and Julia which featured Meryl Streep as Julia Child and Amy Adams as Julie Powell who was a young writer who decided to cook every recipe in Mastering The Art of French Cooking by Julia Child.  She began a blog to detail her cooking adventure and almost lost her husband in the process.  As Carol and I were leaving I said to her, "I'm going to do that!"  "Do what?" she said. "Write a blog," I responded.  She then asked me, "About what?"  I then said, "About my life.  Everyone always said that I should write a book about all the things that happen to me and this would be a great way to do it."  So, with the help of my wife, who helped me set up the blog site, my blog began.  And, if you are wondering why I start every story with the same first sentence, it's because one of my favorite authors, Stuart Woods, always began his books with ….. Elaine's late.  That was until Elaine no longer was a character in his books.  I felt I knew Elaine so much better because of Stuart's method of introducing her to his readers.  So I decided to do the same.  After the first year or so I added a counter to the blog to see if anyone was actually reading the nonsence that I was writing.  Wow, they were!  As of today I have over a quarter of a million visitors to my site.  And, I'm having a ball writing my stories!!  Some stories are probably more interesting to you than others.  In the past five years I have learned more about my hometown of Lancaster than I ever knew before.  My wife is still a big help by mentioning events which have happened to the two of us in the past that may be of interest to others.  She recently retired from her job of 16 years at the Parish Resource Center and has more free time and I'm trying to get her to contribute a few stories.  Hopefully she can give a different perspective to my stories that what I do.  I have a notebook full of ideas for stories which grows all the time as my memory recalls events from the past as well as stories suggested to me by my kids and friends.  Here's hoping I can make it for another few years.  Thanks for reading and I hope you have learned a few things as well as feel as thought you have gotten to know me and my family a little better.    It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.