Twelve Grand

I'm writing a book. I've got the page numbers done.
Steven Wright 

I don't exactly remember what I expected to get out of this blog, now twelve thousand page visits ago. I hoped I'd garner a few readers, maybe sell a few books. It could be a place to offer a bit of insight into the closed world of law enforcement, an insiders take, so to speak. I had nothing else in mind.

In the aftermath of James Davies' death last year I had a friend at work grab my arm and say "You wrote all of the things I wanted to say. Thank you."

I had no idea anyone actually read this blog, let alone took the words to heart. A close friend told of a dinner conversation one of the posts had generated. Another, the subject of a light-hearted story, greeted me in her work area with "I made your blog!"

As has become a custom, whenever I pass a milestone number I pause to thank you. Fictional William Forrester said, in Finding Forrester, that writers write so readers can read. That is only part of it, however.



I was discussing with a friend the more material aspects of writing - the wish to be published and get paid - when she called bullshit. "You do it because you love it! Don't tell me you don't."

I love to write. Having people read what I've written only makes me love it more. You have given me a truly irreplaceable gift - you've read something I wrote.

With little humility and a great deal of presumption I'm going to put together a "Greatest Hits" post, updating some of them to reflect what has happened since they were written. They will not necessarily be the ones that garnered the most hits (629 being the leader) but the ones I hold closest to my heart. Of course, If you have a suggestion I'm sitting right here at the keyboard.