Today I meekly show off my sword swallowing skills. The truth is that I have always depended on …

Dear reader, No let’s make that Dear willow (Life at Willow Manor) {after all, willow, I think you are the only one reading the pillow thus far (no complaining, that’s a fine start!)}:

When I started out on this blog a few short days ago, I earnestly told myself —like many new bloggers, I suppose— that I was doing this for my own purposes and was not much concerned with having an audience. And I meant every word of it ...

… for around two days. The truth is that this does not make much sense unless I feel someone is reading and perhaps being touched, amused, moved or shaken by something they find here.

So I have timidly added the Followers widget here in the hope it will not long chirp out the humiliating message “There are no followers yet. Be the first!”. And, yes, who knows how long it will be before there are more than 1, 2, 3? I admit I find it quite daunting to think that Mr. Widget will taunt me with “2 Followers” for the rest of time unless I conscript or cajole the support of daughters, mother, bookie, greengrocer, bail bondsman, mother-in-law, parole officer or that dolt of a neighbor of mine who always gets on my nerves but who does owe me a favor.

But I will momentarily swallow the sword of stubborn pride (while it is still digestible, before being swelled by wave upon wave of widget whackers), add the whiny widget and make my humble pitch for all visitors who like what you see here and might wish to come back to the pillow again to click on that widgee thing.

As an incentive and in everlasting gratitude for your kind gesture, you will receive the lofty distinction of having your name or blog-moniker emblazoned in fool’s gold letters on the official honor roll of Most Discerning Geniuses in the ‘Kindness of Strangers’ Category that I will keep under the pillow.

No, that isn’t me in the photo — that's a real sword swallower, Dai Andrews, and I plucked the picture from his website.