I Love Little Coincidences.
Today I was updating the landing page for my blog (it shouldn’t say “more than 700 posts” when there are almost 900), and while I was at it I thought I should check the list of all posts too, just to ensure there was no need to update that page also. After scrolling to the bottom and deciding I didn’t need to do anything there, one entry caught my eye because all the other entries around it were purple (meaning recently read), but that one was still blue.
“What was that about?” I wondered, clicked it, and “oh, yeah.” I scrolled through it and my eye caught on a particular comment, which made me wonder if that commenter was still a Premium subscriber, so I checked: yes, and I was reminded of that person’s surname while I was at it.
Since the database was now open, I checked mail for new orders and new subscriptions. There were a couple of orders and one new (free) subscription. I always look at those, in part to see what they put in the “Where Heard” slot, if anything. And you know what that subscriber entered? That he was referred by a friend, who he named. The name? The guy I just looked up in the database because his comment had caught my eye.
Not a little coincidence, but a big one! Still “just” a coincidence. I told the new subscriber about it, and since that blog post was still open in my browser, I grabbed the URL, replied with a short version of this absolutely true story, and pasted the URL into my reply.
The title of that blog post? Coincidences. It begins, “I Love Little Coincidences.”
I looked, but Rod Serling was not standing behind me.
Mike from Dallas
This all reminds me of Premium subscriber Mike from Dallas. Mike didn’t actually live in the city, but he had a house in one of the neighboring towns, and simply identified more with Dallas.
Years ago, Mike used that list of all posts page to methodically read through every post in my blog, from the beginning, starting in 2006. It took him several years — he wasn’t trying to burn himself out, he just used some of his down time to consume something that stimulated his brain more than TV reruns.
He clearly thought going through it all was interesting, but took his time. I think “most” of the blog is interesting, but also know there are a few duds here and there (I mean, there are almost 900 posts now: they can’t all be gems, right?!)
I know this because if Mike had something to say in response to a post — or to an interesting (or dumb) comment, because he read through all the comments, too — he would post a comment. By the time he was done, he had made 463 comments, and for the most part they were valuable and insightful. Mike would sometimes write directly to me, too, if he wanted to comment on something that he considered “not for public consumption.” I don’t have a count for those, but they started in 2006, and he liked what he read enough that he upgraded to Premium in early 2007.
Mike eventually caught up with all the posts; his last comment was on May 21, 2013 on a March 2013 post. I noticed he had stopped commenting, even though the blog continued. In early 2014, when his Premium came up for renewal, he didn’t renew. He never didn’t renew, so it occurred to me, since I had his surname, to look for an obituary …and found it.
I loved that he not only wanted to make his way through my blog from start to what was, at the time, the end, but even more that he added value to it with his comments. I really miss his comments; they were focused and thoughtful.
That’s no coincidence, just solid human connection. Thanks, Mike. You were one of the people that I wish I had met.
If you would like to follow Mike’s path through the blog, the first post is here. As you move along, you’ll see Mike here and there, living on in the comments section.
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I swear you could have written the quote in describing This is True and your blog. I seldom detect which side of an issue you stand on until recently. You seem to be more willing to take a stance or point of view than in the past.
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I’m not sure what your first sentence refers to. As for the rest, I’ve always been willing to explicitly point out when some political figure is objectively wrong, whether the actor is left-wing or right-wing (these are old and new examples to show this goes way back). -rc
Be like Mike. I just caught up on all your residential posts and left a half dozen comments on a Sunday. Which is your busy day I learned and now I feel bad.
But I sure love figuring out travel problems and am almost disappointed you had internet this week so no puzzle.
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Don’t feel bad: when I’m busy, the task of approving comments waits. -rc