It's been fun

I’ve been posting to the Observer since 2008. Before that I wrote columns for the Williamson Herald in Tennessee. To say I’ve enjoyed the process of putting ideas and thoughts on Word documents and then sending them through cyberspace to all of you, would be an enormous understatement. 

It hasn’t always been easy to find a suitable topic. When you try to put a humorous spin on a subject there is always the risk of going too far or in some cases, not far enough. I have my wife Nancy to thank for guiding me. She kept me out of hot water I’m sure. No matter how much I liked a post, if she said, “Maybe you shouldn’t,” I went back to the laptop and started over.

Many writers are paid for what they write. It’s understandable why they keep writing. But writers who are not paid continue to write anyway. Everyone has their reasons. No doubt we all hope to write something that goes viral and opens up opportunities to find a larger audience and yes, get paid for what we have to say.

Most writers though, write for other reasons too. We have ideas, notions, theories just like well, everybody else. What makes us different I suppose is we have the need to write down our ideas and share them with others. Thanks to word processing and the Internet, people who want to write can find an audience without having to go through middlemen like agents, editors and publishers. (Having an editor would do wonders for most of us.)

I can’t say I knew I would be rewarded for writing the Observer. As it turned out I was. On average I received 25 replies to every post. The best responses were the ones that started with, “you reminded me of something that happened to me…” If I tapped into a happy memory for a reader, I felt I did my job that week. I also got replies that were much funnier than what I wrote. Many times those who wrote said something I dearly wished they could have told me before I published.

I covered a lot of topics over the years. I complained that paper receipts were too long. I wrote about watermelons, the holidays and the death clock. I wrote about baby boomers more than I intended to, defending and excoriating my generation. I poked fun at TV shows like American Idol and the Bachelorette. I wrote about fortune cookies too. For reasons I cannot begin to understand that post is by far my most popular. Every week there are at least a few views recorded. Google must have a dedicated server just for fortune cookie related searches.

By now you’ve probably guessed that I won’t be writing the Observer anymore. I want to focus on writing longer essays and some short fiction for now. In writing the Observer, I did my best not to tip my hand regarding my political leanings or my position on most topics. It wasn’t my purpose. Over the years I noticed that readers often see what they want to see. No harm done. Who knows? I may have revealed more than I intended at times. Now I want to write about topics with the freedom to speak my mind more freely. Yes, I could have done that when I was writing the Observer, but gradually I came to understand that that wasn’t the premise I offered when you invited me into your lives.

I plan to keep writing. The fever hasn’t broken yet. And I’ll submit my words, seeking publication through traditional sources. If I have any luck, I’ll be sure to let you know. I am happily aware that you have had much to do with my development as a writer. You read my stuff, encouraged me and corrected me when I needed it. Thank you.

And as always, thanks for reading. It’s been an honor to write for you.