Today is the 4th anniversary of the first date that I posted anything on this site. It's been a lot of fun. The piece I wrote which is the basic homepage explanation is what I wrote on 8/11/07. I need to rewrite it. But then again, I need to do a lot of things! ha ha ha!

This piece will be, I believe, the 562nd entry. There have been some other contributors, but the overwhelming bulk of the writing has been done by me. I have reviewed the Sunday News shows, commented on politics, written about local issues where I live, reviewed art and music events, and even written about some personal things in my life. Also, an occasional photograph is posted. I should post more.

I have a small but consistent readership. I don't know who they are. I think my mom reads it once in a while. But I get hits on the website from around the world. I honestly don't know if they are reading or trying to hack in. I get these weird spam ads that appear in my comment approval queue. I have no idea how they get there. Some kind of computer automation.

I get an occasional comment that is relevant and real. I love that - it means someone is taking it serious. I wish I would get more. I hope that at least a few of the people that look at this blog will leave me a message about my first 4 years - the good and the bad.

I intend to keep going. Some of my columns get read quite a bit and distributed. For example, one of my current columns about the Andy Warhol exhibit at the Frist museum in Nashville shows up on the first page of Google search if you search for "Andy Warhold exhibit at the Frist Museum." That's pretty awesome! A column I wrote about a Mitch McConnell campaign ad two years ago when he ran for re-election got a lot of reads after it was put on a mainstream media news blog out of Louisville. My column about Newsweek's new design was one of the earliest and most read on that subject.

But I know I'm not a great influence on the news world. But I think my insight, that of a native, low income, liberal thinker in the heart of conservative midwest, is one that isn't represented in the mainstream political punditry. And unknown to me, my columns may be read by influential people on occasion. I simply don't know. But I love to write, and I will continue. Happy anniversary to Rural Thoughts!