Naive as I may be at times, I still hope for the best. I write these blogs hoping and thinking people will read and enjoy. The idea to blog really started as a way to find an audience for my way of expressing myself. I do have a small audience and a few are even faithful readers. Visitors from 21 countries totaling 2201 hits with 1641 being one time hits makes 561 the number of people who have viewed the blog more than once. Now – I compare this to a book or magazine; 2201 pick up (visit) my blog and 561 take it home (visit more than once). That means 25% of the people who read or visit my blog come back. I think that is pretty good for my limited experience and developing talent.
Today was another landmark – I found out the donate button really works! After I started blogging, I saw the movie Julie & Julia. Julie’s reader’s started sending her gifts and money. So in March, I had the idea to add the paypal donate button to my blog like she did. I pretty much forgot about it as I blogged about: my friends, life’s adventures, politics, movies, my life with Multiple Sclerosis(MS), solicited advice, asked for help with the barn, written editorials, reported about the Bogotá bus strike, and shared my opinion on many topics. Most read blogs have been: Innocence Taken, Roger Starner Jones, M.D. – Letter Writing 101, A Day at Cerro de Monserrate, I Am a Mexican in WalMart, My Life and the Knife, and Funny How Falling Feels Like Flying….For A Little While. With all the views, hits, comments and readers; it was not until today that I was reminded of the donate button because someone actually made $5 donation.
This donation excites me enough to make me think I will blog more often. So, feel free to suggests topics, offer feedback and share you opinions. 
My naïvety helps me feel these small landmarks have HUGE significance. $5 in 8 months does not inspire me to dreams of being the next David Sedaris or John Grishim, but makes me feel warm and fuzzy. One bit of feedback I did get was to have some shorter posts. So, trying to apply my feedback I try now to stay below 500 words. I value feedback and hope for more. Because now I know that button works and it has been used, now my question is how to get more people to use it? 😉
Thomas Johnston 