Sixteen years as a blogger

Actually, The Lucas Countyan's anniversary date was May 5, but my lack of ability to keep track of birthdays is notorious. So now, a month after the fact, I've sent myself a rose, one that once bloomed in Bill Gode's Corydon garden.

The remarkable Bill has since moved to smaller quarters and his lovely garden is in other hands --- but I'm still here. And in a way that's remarkable, too.

Blogs are a bit like dogs. They have to be cared for and fed. And many blog owners who think it would be a good idea to have one discover that it isn't --- and figure out some way to get rid of it. There's no humane society for abandoned blogs, however, so so most float endlessly out there in cyberspace.

And I must admit that, these days, I watch more vlogs rather than reading more blogs. While I've got the equipment and the programs needed to vlog, I'm not willing to invest the extraordinary amount of time it takes to film and edit one of those beasts, so stick to the latter.

The Lucas Countyan was launched to explore local history --- and that remains the principal topic 4,531 posts later. But I write now and then about LGBTQ+ issues, politics and anything else that strikes my fancy --- or pops into my head on one of those mornings when I awaken at 5 a.m. with no idea about a topic for the day.

The audience is small --- about 500 or so regular viewers a day --- although given a mildly sensational topic and the willingness to promote, I can push the total much higher. I suppose I could attract a wider audience for posts on other topics if I were more combative, but usually just have my say and move along. I suspect that social media debates rarely change hearts or minds.

And so it goes as another day launches here in the south of Iowa ....