Who is reading this blog?

BALTIMORE, Maryland January 31, 2014 - You might be interested to know who, besides you, is reading this blog?  The folks who provide me this space automatically tell me who is logging on to this page.  No names, of course, just numbers.  Even if it is somehow possible to obtain names, I won't look.  I promise.

I realize that I have only taken blogging with any seriousness at all for less than a year.  Some few posts go back to 2011, but there are no regular posts until sometime in 2013.  Plus, I made virtually no effort to expand the readership by using Google Plus, Twitter or Facebook until late last year.  I have promised myself that I will not do actual reporting until I have 40-50 pageviews each day.  By "actual reporting" I mean contacting newsmakers and identifying myself as John William Trotz of Credible and Incisive.  And, once having identified myself, asking them questions.  I used to be a reporter for daily newspapers and weekly newspapers.  I miss that part of my life.

Anyway, according to the stats I receive, I had some 337 pageviews last month, other than my own pageviews.  The stat service breaks down the pageviews by country, by browser, and by operating system.  I was most interested in the "by country" breakdown.  It flabbergasted me.  Not surprisingly, some 264 of the hits came from these United States.  Another 28 came from Germany.  I'm thinking my last name, Trotz, had something to do with this.  "Trotz," I'm told, is a German name.  And, not only is it a German name, it is also a German word.  I'm told it means "hothead" or something to that effect, in German.    To be candid and honest, my father's father came to these United States from Suwalki, Poland.  When he came here, Suwalki was part of Russia.  Before that, it was part of Prussia.  By my estimation, Suwalki is some 30-35 miles from the Russian border.  When my grandfather emmigrated from Suwalki, my research indicates that it was one of the few cities in the world - outside of today's Israel - that had a population that was predominantly Jewish.  But my grandfather was Lutheran.  He came through Ellis Island and originally settled in Detroit.  Not long after arriving, however, he traveled to Scranton, Pennsylvania for a wedding.  He met my grandmother at the wedding and never went back to Detroit.  They married at some point and then had six children.  My father was the last one.  My grandfather - whose name was also John Trotz, went to work as a coal miner.  Many other immigrants from the Suwalki area also settled in Scranton.  The word had gotten back to Suwalki that there was work to be had in Scranton as a coal miner.  None of these immigrants had been miners in Poland.  But they learned quickly.  They all originally planned to earn enough money to establish themselves, then to return to Poland.  Almost none of them did.   My grandgather never had a chance: he was killed in a terrible accident when my Dad was three.

Back to the stats.  After Germany there is this breakdown:  Seven pageviews were from China.  China!  Then there were five pageviews each from Japan and Russia.  Amazing.  After that, there were four each from France, Poland and Singapore.  Then there were two each from the Netherlands and Canada.  Finally, there was one each from England and India.  I was thinking, without knowing, that if I attracted any readers from outside of the United States they would be from England and Italy.  The England conclusion was because I make frequent reference to England because I have been there, because I studied English Literature and History at the University of Maryland, and because I follow the Burnley Football Club and write about it.  I was also mindful of the fact that I write in English.  The Italian guess was because the Vatican followed my Twitter musings for a time, and because I emphasize the fact that I am very supportive of the Vatican.  To the people who look at the blog, I cannot thank you enough.  It means a lot.