200,000!

Whoo hoo! Go Wyatt, it's your birthday! This calls for some dancing!

Aaannnddd . . . we're back. I never really know what to say when a blogiversary or a hit count milestone pops up, mostly because I am pretty adept at expressing sarcasm and bile, and pretty inept at expressing gratitude and appreciation. Let me start out by stating the obvious:

200,000 visits is not a testimony to me or my writing here. It is a testimony to you.

You could swing a dead cat and hit ten bloggers better than I - and yet you still check in and see what I am writing. Many professional pundits average 200,000 hits in a few months - and yet you still celebrate it with me with as much (or more) exuberance as I do. I have the honor of entertaining (or trying to entertain) true American heroes on a regular basis - and yet some of them write e-mails thanking me for what I do! To say it is all very humbling does not even cover it. It took me two years to reach 100,000 hits. It took me ten months to reach 200,000.

I mentioned this earlier this week, but it is worth repeating to spell out a point. Blogging is a lot of work. It really is. My wife can tell you how often I sit in front of my computer, and think of something even remotely entertaining to write about - four times a day, every day. Since June 6, 2005, I have written 2,779 posts. At times, I have been exhausted. At times, I have been completely burned out. And yes, at times, I have flown of the handle from the accumulated stress of my life - as I did this week. (For the record, work has been awful, my lacrosse team has given up on the season, I had no idea for my FSM article, and Kevin's christening is on Sunday. I finally had a blowout.) And, in the end, I realize that I will never be a truly successful blogger along the lines of a Glenn Reynolds or a Michelle Malkin.

So, why do I do all of this?

Well, to be honest, I do it for you, the readers. I have a very loyal, sometimes rabid, core group of readers who have stuck with me since 2005. I have also been lucky enough to earn a few new readers with the help of big-time bloggers like B.C. at The Rott, Ambulance Driver, Sebastian, and so on. I'll never generate the numbers they do, but you know what? I don't care. My readers are the best in the blogosphere. They challenge me, support me, and laugh at my stupid jokes. I try and respond to each and every comment here, and I pride myself on that policy. Lord knows a lot of "professional" bloggers don't do that.

Frankly, your entertainment is job number one. I sincerely hope I am doing my job.

Oh, I almost forgot about the contest!

The lucky visitor is a frequent reader, seldom commenter named Matt, who chimed in from Villanova University. Although it is against the laws of nature for a Saint Joseph's University graduate to associate with a Villanova University graduate in any way, he is still going to receive the prize pack. It also helps that his father worked for the NYPD and his mother worked for the San Diego PD. Here is the winning screen shot:

Matt, your gifts will be sent out by the end of the weekend, and thank you for reading! Thank you all.