Toiling in obscurity

If you’re reading today because you found my blog through Freshly Pressed last week, I’m glad you decided to give Down the Road a whirl. I’ve been writing this blog for almost four years to very little notice from the world. Each new post gets maybe 20 or 30 visits in its first few days. I don’t mind; my meager readership’s comments reward me richly. I’ve been perfectly happy to toil in obscurity.

Someone who commented on my Freshly Pressed post about grammar supposed that I would now have a massively large readership. I certainly did for two days! Watching the hits pile up was exhilarating and responding to all the comments was a hoot. Check out the stats; it’s not hard to figure out which two days it was.

I do write about writing once in a while here on Down the Road, but as you can see from my tag cloud at right my blog is much more about other things. Lately, my favorite topics have been:

Exploring old roads. I have an explorer’s heart; for me, the journey is the destination. I spend my warm-weather free time taking road trips, and I write about them extensively. When I explored US 5o across Indiana last summer, I found some great old alignments of the road and a covered bridge undergoing restoration.
Collecting cameras. I love vintage photographica and enjoy building my collection of 20th-century cameras, especially rangefinders and folders. A couple of my favorite old cameras are my Argus A-Four and my Canon Canonet QL17 G-III.
Faith and personal growth. I follow Christ. I’m also introspective to a fault. I like to write about both my inner and faith journeys, especially when they intersect. Read about how old hymns restored energy to my faith, how breaking my favorite coffee mug taught me a lesson about attachment, and how a tiny apartment helped me heal from my divorce.
Stories from my life. For a simple guy from Indiana, I sure have had some great adventures. Read about how Filet-O-Fish sandwiches remind me of my ornery West Virginia great grandmother, the time I was humiliated live on the radio, and how standing in the Berlin Wall’s shadow made me realize what freedom means. Oh, and then there was the Frozen Glue Incident.

If you enjoy what you see here, I hope you’ll keep reading and commenting! Upcoming posts include a reflection on the value of Christmas, a photograph from the site of a famous American Indian battle, and my annual look at the most popular posts of the year. (Guess which one wins.)