I'm a bad blogger!

There are no set rules for bloggers. We say what we want to say, how we want to say it, and we say it whenever we feel like it. Perhaps the only truism among all bloggers seems to be "If you don't like my blog, quit reading the damn thing."

However, there are certain protocols that I always found to be sensible. These include: giving a response to any direct questions that are posed by readers; giving at least a gratuitous "Hey, thanks for the comment" to new commentators; maintaining some degree of regularity with the timing of posts. The way I see it, maintaining a blog is like inviting people over to your house. Even if you disagree or do not fully understand what they are saying, it doesn't seem right to simply ignore them. And of course, if you're never at home or don't answer the door, people will eventually stop coming by.

By my own standards, I have been remiss in my duties as a blogger lately. I have reasons for this though, mostly that I've just been too busy with other stuff. But reasons aren't the same as excuses, so I would like to apologize for my recent lack of attention to the readers and commentators of this blog.

I started this blog several months ago out of frustration. The frustration began with the drug dealers here, was elevated by FWPD's incompetent response to the problem, and peaked when I came to realize how ignorant, cowardly and lazy many of Fort Wayne's traditional media sources are when it comes to situations such as this. I made the decision to become my own media, telling the story in my own words. Of course, such a story would be of little use without readers such as yourselves. You have read, commented, linked to and posted about my blog on your own blogs, and done other things to help bring attention to my story.

It is probably only because of you that my blog was eventually noticed by the traditional media. Although Michael Summers (Fort Wayne Reader) was the first to write a story about my blog, I have also spoken with a few other members of the media. What I had to say, I am certain, was part of what got their attention, but if no one was reading or commenting on this blog then they probably would not have pursued it further.

I have not yet red the story in the Reader, so I can't respond to it. But I will say that Mr. Summers conducted a good interview. I believe we spent about an hour talking. He had a lot of good prepared questions waiting for me, and he seemed to be able to adapt his interview strategy well to my sometimes rambling responses. I suppose this intense (LOL) media coverage might double my readers from three to six, so I guess that it's time to hop back on the horse and blog again.

Although I still have my hands full today, I will do a regular post tomorrow with an update of the situation here. Regarding the past stories, I had left off with January of 2006. Although there are only two years left to recount, there is still a lot to be said. I still have to give the full account of the night the drug dealers threw Molotov cocktails at my home, and of the FWPD police officer who laughed at me over this and told me to quiet down and quit making noise.

Yes, I have made noise: first to the drug dealers, asking them to stay away from my home; then to the police, asking them to do their job of enforcing the law; then to the traditional media, asking them to look into my story. It was only after I was virtually ignored by all three of these groups that I just started talking out loud, here on the blog, to anyone who would listen. And it is you who listened (and commented) who have helped to amplify my voice. So I would like to thank those who have been regular readers of my blog, and I would like to welcome any new readers, and I promise to get back to blogging tomorrow to finish the story that I've asked you to listen to.