Sorry for Being Such a Downer!

The posts here have not been as frequent as I would like -- hopefully that can change over the course of the summer which normally comes with a slightly relaxed schedule. However, you'll notice that the comments offered by you, the readers, are even more scarce! That is because I changed the parameters for postings within the comment box.

Originally when I set this blog up several years ago now, I provided a forum for all to offer any comments that popped up in anyone's mind. I have appreciated the reactions to my writings offered not only here, but also in my personal email at www.jim.baraniak@snc.edu. What you have written has been very positive, affirming and thought provoking. But then there are the other "comments" that just won't go away!

About two years ago I noticed someone responding to one of my posts with a commercial! I was a bit dumbfounded, wondering how something like that could pop up within a comment post. I responded a bit sarcastically in a subsequent post asking who supplied the commercial interruption as I wondered what their product had to do with the subject matter of the posting. You could only imagine the reaction this caused -- I was quick to sensor!

As time would go by and as I continued posting, the number of commercials rose exponentially. Unlike the first commercial message, these later commercial messages began typically by the author stating something like, "Great message, Father Jim. I know just how you feel. Perhaps my services could help you and your readers." This would inevitably lead into some commercial dealing with pet grooming or the newest touchless car wash. It got to the point that after each post, I'd spend the next two days removing all sorts of ads.

I suspect the settings do not need to be "all or nothing." In other words, there will be some opportunity for you to respond here, but minus the commercial interruptions -- I'm having a mental flashback right now of Gary Owens stating, "Pardon the commercial interruption!" I'll need to see Zach to work that one out! In the meantime, feel free to offer your thoughts or reactions to the email noted above. As always, it's so good to hear from you.