Know when to fold 'em

Several years ago when the whole Friday morning email/song thing started, the weekly practice was little more than an informal attempt to do something nice at the end of the week...and partly in hopes of encouraging hardworking coworkers to go out and truly enjoy a well-deserved weekend. After a long and fairly popular ride in its largely unchanged original format, the weekly practice morphed into something more formal, where at least the attempt was made to make the stories more than the impromptu blathering contained in the less structured initial design. I suspect that happened for several reasons, including both the urging of well-intended colleagues that thought the weekly missives deserved a wider audience, and my own gargantuan ego that somehow believed there would indeed be broader interest.

I’m trying not to beat myself up too much about that expectation…I suspect most of us want to believe what we think matters to others, and that people will be interested in what we have to say or write...but that’s probably only true you if you have interesting thoughts, tell good stories, or if you particularly write well. I wanted to believe folks would eat up musings about quirky people on airplanes, seeds-of-faith infomercials, personal college football failures, the human hunger for appreciation, altar boy experiences (that just sounds bad), the death of style, my father’s wisdom, self-reflection, the value of a smile, growing older, listening, two-lane roads covered with Buffalo, the greatest generation, road trips, motorcycle rides, chivalry, noteworthy retirements, enduring romance, South Dakota, holidays in mid America, the fragility of life, balconies in Tuscany, North Dakota, formica kitchen tables…and the people, pets and things that should matter most in our lives.

I guess I thought the popularity of the narratives would grow, and that fascinated readers would share the missives with their friends and relatives, who would then pass them along to their various contacts…and so it would go. Soon, I reasoned readership would go global, and folks in other countries would start following, followed not long after by my inevitable appearance on Oprah. Actually, the stats function of the formal blog shows there are readers in France, Germany, Austria and Switzerland. That sounds encouraging, but deep down inside I know I’m the one that accessed the site from those locales…so aside from some Canadian and UK followers (who I’m guessing stumbled on the site thinking it was connected to the god-awful internet song “It’s Friday)…the thing just hasn’t caught on oversees…or anywhere else for that matter.  

Unfortunately, the blog stats feature also shows actual page views, and since the switch to the online format the trend line is heading down at a steeper angle than my 3-year GPA at Alexander Hamilton High School. On top of all of this, I have received a ton (maybe four people) of feedback from folks that don’t like having to hunt for the stories online or the antiseptic environment of the blog. Perhaps more importantly, they note they also miss the more folksy appearance of the “It’s Friday” message in their personal inboxes. I guess it was kind of a modern-day version of the flag up on the mailbox.

So, given the unlikelihood that I’m going to become a better writer (think comas and the whole desert vs. dessert thing…still not clear on that one), and knowing that my life and related stories are probably not going to get any more interesting, it seems quite clear that it’s about time to look in the mirror and scrap the formal blog approach. 

Not sure how I’m going to remedy all this. I’m tempted to revert to emails but I don’t want to presume anyone really wants the weekly messages. Actually…judging by the blog stats, there isn’t really much to wonder about. Maybe I should just enroll in a writing class at UDC or at least figure out how to disable the stats feature on the blog account.

What’s the point of all this? Well the six of you still reading know there is no point. I suspect there could be some connection to lessons about not tinkering with something that isn’t broken, but I’m not really sure. In the meantime, let’s get back to having a great weekend, spending time with the people we love, relaxing, and starting the day off with some good music.

I actually heard this song while watching Imus earlier this week and I had to get up off the couch at 6 a.m. and dance. Now, if I could just get that video on the blog…that would go viral.

Have a wonderful, relaxing, family-filled weekend. Do something fun…you certainly deserve it.

http://grooveshark.com/#/s/I+m+Goin+Down/2rRunH?src=5