The Reason

                           The Reason






     Every now and then I scroll down thru the list of articles that I have written in this blog, to the side of the list is a number which denotes how many times the article has been viewed. Some of the stories have been read once or twice some twenty to thirty times and a few as many as sixty plus. I have often wondered why one article has been viewed more often than another. Once in a while I will scroll the titles and one will catch my eye and I will read it again, it may invoke new memories for future stories or simply allow me the pleasure of reliving a cherished moment in time, either way they are all important to me though some are closer to my heart than others.
     Of course the subject matter varies by story and I imagine that my passion for the story varies also but then the reader wouldn't know these things until they had read the story, maybe the title is what caught their attention. The most read article is titled " Sleepless Nights " was viewed 87 times to date, it is about the wandering memories in the sleep deprived mind of an old man. The next most read is " You Can't Pick Your Relatives " a somewhat comical piece on the ancestry of the clan, it has been viewed 84 times. With 74 views "Happy Holiday " is simply a longing for the way things used to be.
     My most passionate piece is titled simply "Linda", it took me weeks to write, it has been viewed 63 times. It was written during one of the darkest hours of my life. This story holds a special place in my heart, I can only hope I got it right.
      I started this blog for my sons and the future generations of their children, I am proud that so many people have taken an interest. The reason people read one story more than another is not important, the fact that they read the story at all is the important thing, if someone else finds pleasure in my work then maybe there is some purpose to my life after all, a reason to keep going.



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     It is now four years later, I have not written anything for six months. I didn't really take a break or have writers block, I just got busy and lost track of time. My time has not been wasted, I have been working on a book and it was just published.
     My friend Charles, a member of our support group, is a publisher of sorts and he has been after me to publish my blog. We got together at one of our luncheons last fall and he suggested that I write a book about dealing with grief from a man's point of view. After much thought I gave it a go, several rewrites and edits the book was published. In the beginning I wasn't sure what to say but the words did come and I am proud of the results, if just one person is helped by reading my book then I will consider it successful, I do hope it helps many people.
     I recently upgraded to a lap top and it has allowed me to multi task ( watch TV and write stories at the same time ). The flood gates opened for me, in about two weeks time I turned out ten stories and have four or five more in draft status. Some of these stories came from me going back through the stories I had already written, I jiggled written words and new memories fell in place on the pages. Some times that is all it takes.
     While going through previous stories I noticed that some of the old stories gained in the number of times they have been viewed. Readership for "Sleepless Nights"picked up eight more views which is really not much, "Linda" picked up twelve while "Happy Holidays' gained seventy six but the biggest by far was "You Can't Pick Your Relatives" jumped from eighty six views four years ago to four hundred and fourteen today, I don't know four hundred people. Many other postings gained readership and I am elated, why so many people took the time to check out my blog I can't say but I am happy they did.
     I you are interested check out my book "The Next Chapter", it will be available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Know It All Publications.