It was Fun while It lasted: #883, the last & final post of theobilly

All good (or in this case, average) things must come to an end. Nine years ago I started this blog, today it ends.

Why?  It just seemed right.

What now? a new blog on the transition zone between urbanism and agrarianism.

Will I keep this online?  I'll leave theobilly online for a few weeks while I cull through it for pictures, ideas and such.  Then I will erase it and say adieu.

Thanks to everyone for the interactions over the years.

I started this blog in Rhode Island because I was lonely.  I wondered if there anyone else "out there" who was a baptist with an Anglican Oversoul, I wondered if anyone thought things were as funny as I thought they were, I wondered if anyone had the same kind of pain in their lives too.  It appears "they is".

From there my blog became kind of a backdoor resume, I had many conversations with search committees about my blog.  So although the official post count will be #883, it was more like a 1,000 (I scrubbed it).  My first blog post was about Dick Cheney dropping the f-bomb and the f-word's use in American language.  (it is not online anymore) Then there was a series of posts about my surgery, my vasectomy.  I was fascinated with it, apparently others were not.

From there it became a way to share sermons.  I got (and still do) get a kick out of watching the numbers of hits rise on Saturday evenings, folk will google "sermons on luke 5", or something like that.     For the most part, however, I took most of my sermons offline.  With a blog you cant follow John Wesley's imperative, burn your sermons every ten years.  It is too embarrassing to read them ten years later.

Then bookface came and messed everything up, at least that is what I used to think.  Now, well now my blogging has been comprised of starts and stops.

over 1,000 posts, over 100,000 visits, and countless hours of non-productivity.

here's my top ten list:

10:  A Bowl of Oats.  I just happen to love oats.

9.  The A.P. Carter Theory of Ministry.  Why AP Carter's model of producing music is a good model of pastoral ministry.

8.  Salt Crusted Pizza.  There was great debate between me and my spouse over which was best for the crust: kosher salt or garlic salt.  My idea for kosher salt won, probably the only time my skills as a cook superseded hers.

7.  Supreme Vegetable Oddity.  I pulled these carrots out of the ground and thought oh man this just aint right.

6.  A Few Words About Pop.  The words I read at the funeral for my father.

5.  Target of a Prankster.  Sex themes that kept appearing in the annual church yard sale in RI.

4.  Friedman Cries for More Support  Fake news story I wrote.  I wrote several Onion-esque articles, I've always liked this one.

3.  Publish or Preach   A tribute to my late OT professor, Werner Lemke.  His influence on my life continues almost every day.

2.  Cookies for Breakfast   self-explanatory.

1.  Michaelmas  where I think/hope the route of my future writing will take.

Readers, (not to be too presumptuous, but hey this is the last post) do you have a favorite (on or not on the list)?