24 April 2020

The Author Reflects After Having Just Proofread His Entire Damn Blog -- All 12 Years of it

The author and his father many moons ago.
Mission accomplished. I have now proofread all 1,215 posts on this blog. The task began in early January. When I started I reckoned it would take me well into late Summer. But thanks to the coronavirus and being laid off, here I am finished on April, 24. (This blog turns twelve years old next month.)

About a dozen posts were deleted for various reasons. Many new labels were created and a few removed. Editing for clarity was done as well as fixing formatting. All told it was one helluva lot of reading centered mostly around one topic -- me.

I noted that over the years I've repeated myself constantly. I've shared many observations, anecdotes, stories, complaints, comments, numerous times. Many complaints and some stories related to my commute. Thank god commuting is no longer part of my life. I also constantly complain about people who talk loudly on their cell phones in public places, especially in the gym. Indeed gym behavior has been a constant topic of mine. I've also mentioned my arch nemesis -- inconsiderate bicycle riders -- roughly a quarter of a billion times.

I've written a lot about my depression with 34 posts so labeled. On the one hand it's been cathartic for me, on the other hand, ease up a little bit there buddy. Maybe don't feel compelled to share all of them. I've also written about dear old crazy mom. One assumes that if I'd had a normal mother there's been very little here about her. So it goes.

Of course I used to write a lot about films -- indeed for several years this was almost exclusively a film blog -- and now do so only occasionally. I was surprised how insightful and entertaining much of my writing on films has been. I have an encyclopedic knowledge of movies and occasionally am able to share interesting insights on everything from classic thirties films to recent releases. I've also provided some entertaining lists of favorites of various kinds. In addition to the obvious favorite all- time films there have been favorites in all manner of category.

I've delved into politics more than once, usually when particularly miffed about a recent event and with Trumpy president there are daily opportunities for being miffed. I've also shared social commentary -- too often in the forms of my ubiquitous complaints -- and written about African Americans and the LGBTQ community. Some of these posts have allowed me to share my copious knowledge of US History.

There has been a lot about my past including old friends, my childhood, my college years, my father (some particularly nice posts about him) and of course mom. A los of my reminiscences have been about my past abuses of drugs and alcohol and subsequent recovery. This has been good for me and anyone else who is an addict, whether practicing or clean.

Some of my better posts have been from the various trips the missus and I have taken since the blog began, including three to Europe and four to New York. They -- like a lot of what I've written -- have done a good job of bringing back memories.

I've written a lot about teaching, including providing advice to fellow teachers, particularly those just starting. I'm proud of these writings and know that they have been read and appreciated.

There have also been a lot of humor pieces and a few have actually been funny. I've been somewhat of a cut-up for as long as I can remember and was always the class clown and the funniest person at any place I worked. Making people chuckle is one thing I can unabashedly say that I'm accomplished at.

Since last month I've been writing my coronavirus quarantine diaries and I'm too close to these to comment on them other than to say I hope they add a little bit to the record of this pandemic, at least how it has effected our family.

One topic I have not touched upon in my lovely, wonderful, adorable, sexy, brilliant, kind and perfect wife. While I do make reference to going to a film or being on a trip with "the missus" or the "better half," I do not name her nor describe her in any detail other than to slap a glowing adjective her way as seen above. She prefers her anonymity and I respect that. (She does like and praise a lot of what I write here and always encourages me to write.) I am of course the opposite in that I have no secrets from the world, it's all here on this blog. I'll be dead someday anyway, so what's the difference.

One reason I've started being so meticulous about this blog is that I am leaving it behind so when the Grim Reaper shows up the kiddies and any offspring they have and my nieces and nephews and their progeny will have this to remember what a sap I was. Or perhaps they'll find in it some insight into just what made me tick (that ticking sound is super annoying) plus this is full of family history that may be of actual interest to them.

That's it. I just ran out of things to say on this topic. This is my blog and for better or worse I'm proud of it and mean to keep at it for the foreseeable future. I'm so glad that there have been people all over the world who have at one time or another stopped by and enjoyed something I've written. That's pretty darn cool.

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