A[nother] Reason to Blog

Like any self-respecting blogger, I spend some time (OK…a lot; there, are you satisfied?) poring over visitor logs and being amazed at the variety of ways people stumble across the Gazette.

As you might expect, a bunch of folks come by way of search engines, and their search terms are all over the map. For example, someone visited a few minutes ago after an earlier post came up in the #2 spot on Google for the term “pomeranian ant.” In this case, I fear the seeker was disappointed to find my ramblings about the shoddy quality of Hummers, rather than insights into horribly mutated six-legged tiny dogs that they were obviously seeking.

Such things are a source of endless amusement to someone like me who is easily amused, but I occasionally spot something more sobering. For example, another visitor came today after a search for sites matching “spot on lung found on xray.” One can imagine all kinds of scenarios that might give rise to a search like this, and none of them are good.

This person’s search led him or her to this post from August, 2003, wherein I began a months long journey through various diagnostic processes to confirm that my lung spot was nothing to be worried about. I hope that my story is similar enough to the seeker’s situation that he or she can take hope and comfort from my experiences, as well as from the outcome.

Blogging is a lot of things. It’s big stories that affect public careers and it’s trivial diversions that kill some time waiting for important things to happen…and occasionally, it’s personal stories that might help an unknown soul find a bit of light in an otherwise dark day. I don’t aspire to the first; the second comes naturally to me (and for that, I offer yet another apology!). But if I can do the third thing every once in a while, then it’s more than enough reason to keep at it.

Funny thing is, you can’t predict how your experiences might resonate with someone else. But if you’re a blogger, my advice to you is pretty simple. If it’s important to you, don’t be surprised if, somewhere else in the world, there’s another person to whom it will be equally important. Such is the community we inhabit.