I have been told , that there are literally brigades of readers “ clamoring ” for more of my writing and insightful thoughts , at least that ’ s what the Terwilliger says . So , I want to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you out there for following me through all the wasted years of loyalty to this column , all the wasted time you will never get back from reading this . Your support and loyal readership never ceases to amaze me , you have let me evolve , ( as you shall soon see ) let me take chances and most of all you have made my efforts feel worthwhile . I take my work here to heart and though , I know I ’ m not saving the world , I hope to make it a better and more enjoyable place for you to live in . I try to cover the things that unite us , such as BEER !! So , I ’ ll be here for you to put your feet up and enjoy a beer or two . Please , go ahead pop a top and waste some more time with me .
One day as I was dropping a “ deuce ” and contemplating what beer to drink next , a vision came to me , like manna from heaven . I wondered how many articles I have contributed to this newsletter over the years ? Since I have in my possession , at least to my knowledge , ALL Border Batch newsletters , I took some time and looked back at these . My first piece that I wrote was in the January 1996 newsletter and concerned my Red Wing cone that I discovered . This article did not have a header and as you will see the headers have evolved over the years . My next column was a guest column using Tom ’ s “ Beer Treking ” header and was the January 1998 newsletter . Why 2 years passed before I wrote again ? I was attending advanced courses on Linguistics .
After January 1998 I stared writing articles at a furious pace , ( This was after I graduated from Harvard ) and most newsletters I contributed 2 articles and at times even 3 columns . Burned up a couple of keyboards during this time . Just could not keep writing enough for the clamoring hordes . Now , here are all the headers that have graced my articles . “ Vice Presidential Ramblings ”, “ A Brew With The Veep ”, “ A Brew With The Vice Is Nice ”, “ Backwash ”, “ Jay ’ s Soapbox / The Beatnik Poet ”, “ Keeping Pace ”, “ 25 Beers Ago ”, “ Struttin ’ With Da Prez .” “ 50 Shades of Jay ”. I think I personally like Backwash the best . I think that was all , at least that ’ s all I found . While going through these , I would read some and laugh my ass off at the shit I wrote . Plus , lots of old pictures and memories that I had forgot . So , how many articles did I write ? My count is 74 and this one makes 75 , of course . Wow !! I would guess the only other person who has contributed more articles would be Tom T .
I need to re-print just a bit from my “ Jay ’ s Soapbox ” column of July 2006 . “ Welcome to the Beatnik ’ s Soapbox . First off , this Soapbox has a new policy . It is the Soapbox ’ s editorial policy that the readers shall have no voice whatsoever and that this Soapbox shall be a one-way conduit of information . This Soapbox shall be , reserved for the exclusive use of , myself , to advance whatever opinion or agenda I see fit . Go ahead and put that in your corncob pipe and smoke it . I will also try and serenade your frontal lobe with facts , fantasy , maybe some poetry and plenty of bull .” That made me laugh . Fun to go back and read these old issues and articles , not just mine but , others as well .
After 75 columns and thousands of words , you would think , “ ain ’ t this knuckleheaded fool going to shut his blowhole ?” Yes , that would be a good assessment . But , yet the masses clamor for more and more shall you receive . I ’ m actually considering gathering all my articles and consolidate them into a book . Maybe make the New York Times best seller list , who knows ? Ok , so I have illusions of grandeur . In this new year , I will be even more opinionated and will dig deep into the issues that affect you , the reader . No fake news here , just facts . Since looking at past articles , I would almost always close with a “ Quote of the Issue ”. I used this quote in the January 2005 issue : “ A mind the caliber of mine , cannot derive its nutriment from cows ” George Bernard Shaw . That one made me laugh again . Till next time ,
Jay Martin # 16605 .
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