{"id":11945,"date":"2012-11-06T18:36:21","date_gmt":"2012-11-06T23:36:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.howderfamily.com\/blog\/?p=11945"},"modified":"2022-07-03T08:49:27","modified_gmt":"2022-07-03T13:49:27","slug":"five-great-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.howderfamily.com\/blog\/five-great-years\/","title":{"rendered":"Five Great Years"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

There were 57,482,609 WordPress blog sites in the world when I checked this evening. Twelve Mile Circle is merely one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is the average lifespan of a blog? I don’t know although I suspect it’s short. Most probably bite the dust in their first month. Those making their way through that first crucial phase tend to go a year or two before slowly petering-out. I can’t for the life of me figure out how Twelve Mile Circle has marched along on a fairly regular schedule for five entire years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In the Beginning<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Route<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I first pressed the “publish” button on WordPress on November 6, 2007. Since then I’ve continued uninterrupted about three times per week ever since. I’ve hit that button now nearly 800 times. And loyal readers such as yourselves have commented thoughtfully nearly 3,200 times. That’s about four comments per post. I felt grateful for any<\/em> comments on the early articles when hardly anyone knew about 12MC. So I greatly appreciate the growing interactive audience I’ve accumulated over the years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I remember thinking that I wasn’t sure I wanted to do this. Naturally I thought it would take too much personal time or I’d run out of ideas. I didn’t design this as a stream-of-consciousness site. Every article requires a level of research, some significantly so, and I can’t draft them quickly. Would I be able to summon the discipline necessarily to produce a steady supply of geo-oddities? Apparently so, although I had serious doubts when I first began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"County<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Somehow each of you readers found 12MC randomly, individually by your own devices. Readership has grown slowly and steadily in a fairly linear fashion. I’ve done nothing to publicize it. I’ve never been featured on any of the big aggregator sites that can send visitor counts through the roof. I’m not going to pander and beg for page views with prizes and giveaways. I ignore the basics of Search Engine Optimization techniques. It’s not my thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A very small niche topic captures my interests and then I like to talk about it. A lot. So it’s as simple as that. I’m grateful to find a small scattering of people around this vast world who share similar interests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some Were Better Than Others<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It’s hard to say which articles have been my favorites over the last five years. I do understand that my tastes seem to differ from the 12MC audience which seems to prefer little puzzles and geographic challenges. The irony amuses me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Veramar<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Nonetheless, let me take a shot at selecting a personal favorite and an honorable mention for every year of Twelve Mile Circle. I had to leave piles of other favorites on the cutting room floor. That’s a shame although one can always consult the complete index and map<\/a>. Personal favorites don’t imply “most popular” or “best written.” They simply represent articles that stuck with me, sometimes for intangible reasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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2007<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I didn’t start writing until November of 2007 so the candidate pool for the initial year was pretty small. Plus it took awhile for 12MC to get into a rhythm. The earlier articles were shorter than those that came later. Sometimes I threw them together too quickly as I struggled to find a topic. Is it too late for a “do over” or a few strategic deletions?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Lake<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I’m going to go with Lake Okeechobee\u2019s Five Counties<\/a> for two reasons: (1) five counties actually come together to form an exceedingly rare quintipoint (the only county-level example in the United States); and (2) because the son of the Florida legislator who created the quintipoint commented on the article and added vital historical information. Those seem like good enough reasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Honorable mention goes to Washington DC Area\u2019s Last Phone Booth<\/a>. The phone booth no longer exists. This article reminded me that if I’m able to photograph something remarkable I need to do it without delay. I lost my chance here. I’m kicking myself because I could have recorded it easily at any time before the booth disappeared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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2008<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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