A Thousand Friends

My father tells this story about a friend of his - we'll call him "Rick" - who opened a restaurant many, many years ago. I'll probably mangle some of the details, but the gist of it is that, being a supportive friend, my Dad and another acquaintance dropped by for lunch on either opening day or within the first week there.

Rick was happy to have them stop by, but at the conclusion of the meal he broke it to them that he wasn't comping the bill. "I wish I could," he said, "But you know, a thousand friends, a thousand free lunches."

After my Dad and his other friend left the establishment they scoffed at the lame excuse for not picking up the bill (not that they EXPECTED free food - just that the excuse was especially weak).

"Who the hell has a thousand friends?!" my father asked.

Well Dad, as of this week, I do - at least on Twitter. It might have taken over a year, but I hit the four-digit milestone. It's no Ashton, but pretty decent.

It was a pretty cool milestone for me this week... at least until one of my crushes Mary Elizabeth Winstead joined three days ago, and had three and a half times that number by midday Thursday.

It keeps me from getting a big head. Instead, I'm just grateful to all of you who read the blog daily and who care enough to follow on Twitter. It means a lot, particularly those few of you who have inspired me professionally. I'm always floored when I see a familiar name attached to a new follower.

I've also had the pleasure of chatting with several of my readers via Twitter. And it's been fun getting to know you and debating the merits of certain films or TV shows. I never was the sort of person who went in to chatrooms to meet strangers, but I do enjoy the occasional Tweets back and forth from followers reacting to something I've said or posted.

So thanks again and I'm glad everyone still apparently enjoys coming here on a daily basis.