Friends:
100 Emails!
I can honestly tell you that when I started this way back when, I never envisioned it getting this far. But friends, this week, your inbox is being visited (or infested, depending upon how you view it) with a missive from me for the 100th time. Yep, you read that right… for the past 101 weeks (recall, only one misstep), you have received your weekly visitor in the form of my narcissistic diatribes. Whether they be comedic or serious, legally tinged or socially alert, you have seen and read who I am or, in some respects, who I aim to be.
We have discussed history and literature, sports and current events, leadership and entertainment and I hope that you have enjoyed reading them as much as I have enjoyed writing them. And boy how the writings have changed, not just from the first day to now, but from week to week as well.
I would like to think that I have succeeded in my mission… not that I intend to stop, mind you. But the idea was a simple one: find a way to keep in touch with those whom I care about and by whom I want to be remembered. The inspiration was borne of the numerous newsletters and email blasts that I received on a daily basis by colleagues and marketeers attempting to prove to me how smart they were. At the end of the day, I didn’t care how smart they were, I was more concerned with whether I liked them.
What I did know, however, is that, truth be told, people generally tend to like me and I generally tend to like everyone else. But it is impossible to touch everybody every day or every week and stay current with them, to stay on their radar, to stay memorable. So I came up with this weekly blog.
I confess, at the outset it seemed like an easy task. My mom always told me that growing up I never stopped talking, so how hard could it be to fill a weekly email post? But as weeks turned into months, it got to be more difficult and, as you may have noticed, the tone and tenor of the emails changed. Sure, I started out primarily with general observations and sophomoric commentaries, quips and phrases and silly discourses, but I feel that eventually it found its own groove. It morphed into blogs that I hope you consider to be pensive, thought provoking and, in some ways, academic and engaging. Yes, I sometimes regress back into irreverence, whether it be complaining about television shows or remarking that graduation ceremonies should be held every year, but hey, I am still human and sometimes that’s where my mind goes.
Because every Sunday night, as I sit in front of the computer, letting my mind wander, I try to think of a topic that you would find interesting which would also give you further insight into me. Seriously, did you ever think you would find Charles Dickens interesting? Or stop to consider how to fix our jury system or the issues concerning teenage drivers? Or, or, or… crap, I can’t remember what I wrote about all those weeks.
I started out email number 1 with a quote from Dickens: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…” In a lot of ways, that was apropos of the time; an economy in distress and uncertainty from day to day. It could not have been a better time to begin this journey, for my objective then, as it has been each week since and continues today and beyond, is that I am here for you, to support you, to assist you, and to encourage and champion you.
Now, I gave a lot of thought to how I would approach the 100th email of this journey. I thought about giving you some highlights, pointing out my favorite posts, and meditating on what I have learned about myself along the way. But as I thought about how to approach such a monumental task as that I figured, “Ain’t no freaking way.” I can’t remember what I wrote last week, let along 56 posts ago! And it is one thing to get so caught up in myself as to write these each week, but it is even more self-absorbed to re-read them all. This is aside from the fact that we are our own worst critics and I went back a few weeks ago and read some of the early posts and was immediately embarrassed that I let them be read by anyone.
(But if you are interested in taking the walk back in time, I have done my absolute best to place them on a separate webpage to enjoy anytime you want. Go to www.robcohen13.wordpress.com and they are all there.)
So next week, back with new material and I make no promises. It could be about anything and I would like to think that this is what keeps you reading each week. A little bit of the, “What will Rob chat about this week?” Because I guarantee, you will always be surprised. I mean seriously, have you ever not been surprised by where these things go? Most of the time it shocks the crap out of me…
So with all of that, I offer this: My most heartfelt and gracious appreciation for being with me along this expedition. I couldn’t have done it without all of you. If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to witness it, does it still make a sound? And if Rob writes a weekly blog and no one reads it, does it…? Crud, I don’t know how that one is supposed to go…
But, Thank You.
Rob