C'mon! Give Me A Break! Help Out Ol' Pappy!

    I have noticed that there are about 15 of you who check in with this blog from time to time.  This past week 7 of you visited for the first time.  In the past month this blog was visited about 101 times, which means those 15 or so of you are coming back for more insights into my thoughts and possibly to secretly scoff at my idiocy.  I don't really care why you are reading this, I'm just thrilled that someone other than my wife (and I'm not actually certain she ever visits this page) knows I exist.  Yes, it's a little egotistical, I know.  But in spite of the fact that I truly do enjoy writing just for the sake of writing, I also enjoy writing for someone else.  I don't believe it's any different than a singer or actor wanting an audience.
     However, as much as I appreciate all of you stopping by, I have some suggestions to make this more fun (and maybe even more meaningful) for me and for you.  Don't be a drive-by audience.  Here are some actions I would love for you to take.
    1. Become a "follower."  It's easy.  On the left-hand side of this blog click on the "Follow" button.  You will be asked to give some information and given the opportunity to submit a photo (but you don't have to).  Right now I have 7 followers (Actually, it's only 6.  My wife signed up twice.).  That's pathetic!  People visit my page and think it's a dumb place to be because there are only a few digital people digitally milling around.  They want to be where the action is.  And on a blog page, action is denoted by followers.  So, do me a favor and start following. 
    2.  Next, you can get an email notification every time I post a new blog.  All you have to do is look just a little bit below the end of this article for the "Subscribe" button.  There's one small one that has "Atom" next to it.  Then farther down there is a little window with a drop down menu.  I'm not sure how all of that works, but I believe if you click on the little one ("Atom") you will get notifications.
    3. You can check a box at the bottom of this article to summarize your immediate impression as "funny," "interesting," or "cool."  Try not to check "cool" every time.
    4. You can leave a comment.  Really, why are all of you (except Shanti) reluctant to comment?  That's what makes a blog fun!  You get to criticize, applaud or question.  Then people can agree or disagree with you.  Pretty soon we have wild discourse and literally sparring!  Or a love fest!  But if you don't leave any comments, you may suck the fun right off the page.  You don't want to be a killjoy do you? (The feds haven't outlawed "killjoy" yet, so I'll leave it there).  When you want to comment, you will be asked to identify yourself.  If that's what's keeping you from commenting, just indicate "anonymous."
    5.  Finally, if you really want to have some fun, you can click on "Share this on Facebook" or "Tweet this" and all your friends will know you are recommending my blog for them to read.  Wow!  Would that boost my ego or what?!  It may not do much for your standing with your friends, but remember you are doing this for my self-esteem.
    So, give a guy a break.  It's not like I'm asking for money.  In fact, I am considering following the lead of my dear friend (whose blog is listed on the left, "Adoption is Our Nutshell."  Check it out.) and giving away a prize or two if you help me reach a goal, say like 30 followers.  I will think about an appropriate gift card or other item that could be given away in a drawing.  I'll get back to you on that.
    Oh, to those two Russian visitors from a few weeks ago: If you revisit this sight, I'll include you in the drawing.