Guess what I just found out - today the "Vineyard" as reached half a million page views! See for yourself:
This is maybe not quite on par with google.com, youtube.com or cnn.com, but for the very modest blog of one lone guy its pretty good, no? And keep in mind that I make no money at all of this blog, that I have a job and a family to take care of, and that my political views are, how shall I put it, mostly "incompatible with a popularity contest". And yet, somehow, with God's help, this blog has been up for over 5 years now, from May 1st, 2007 until today, September 10th, 2012. I am actually amazed that nobody has tried to have it censored or shut down (only one guy tried, actually).
Sure, over the years, I pissed off a lot of people who first liked the blog because they assumed that it was a .... (fill the blank) kind of blog, only to find out that while my opinion and theirs did coincide on one topic, we mostly disagreed on everything else. Those who stayed clearly have a very high tolerance for differences of opinions and no interest in partisan politics of any kind.
Thanks a lot guys, not only for putting up with my admittedly bizarre views and beliefs, but also for your many kind words of support which kept me going even in the most frustrating and discouraging moments!
Cheers,
The Saker