Happy 500th

So I did a Google search of ‘500’ to see if there was some witty literary tie-in to the number 500. I didn’t find one. I located other '500’ references, however.

From the financial world, I saw the “S & P 500.” In a similar vein, I also found the “Fortune 500.” A few years back, there was a movie, “500 Days of Summer.” And, every music-oriented website you can imagine, it seems, has a countdown of the “Top 500 Songs of All Time.” None is more definitive, perhaps, than this one.

Nothing turned up in the search that seemed suitable to serve as a title for the 500th post for  "Coach Jeff’s Blog.“ Nothing celebration-worthy. So, you can see, I went "Plain Jane.”

That’s okay, though. There’s is more than enough material to mark this occasion. In fact, as you might imagine, I had a hard time whittling the number down to a manageable “Top 10” to say “Happy 500th.”

I also thought about some sort of ranking system for my favorite Top 10 posts and then I scuttled that idea. What you will find as you read on is, in no particular order, a compilation of my own favorite Top 10. Also, since many of the blogs are clustered among topics, I decided to put all of them under one category. There won’t be 10 “Concord Choppers” posts in the Top 10, for example. All the Chopper blogs fall under one. 

You’ll get the idea as you read on. 

If you’ve been reading the Coach Jeff Blog for a while, many of the ones in this Top 10 will seem familiar. If you are a new subscriber, this is an easy way to see what I think is The Best of the Best. And, if you are deciding whether or not to become a follower, here’s a way to get a quick taste.

So, without further delay, to celebrate the 2nd Anniversary of Coach Jeff’s Blog and the 500th post, here is my Top Ten:

10. Introduction to Me (Sept. 20, 2011) -
A journey, they say, begins with the first step. At least that’s what I wrote in Blog Post #1. There have been 499 steps since then. With humble beginnings, Coach Jeff’s Blog began nearly two years ago.  I invite you to enjoy the first post!

9. Driving Us Batty (May 2, 2012)
In the spring of 2012, a small colony of bats took up residence on the side of our house. They left us a month later but settled in the woods behind our house. We became fascinated with the 'big brown bats’ and I wrote a number of posts in the spring and early summer of 2012 devoted to our new neighbors. This was the first. 

8. About Kalle Anka (December 23, 2011)
I read about the Swedish tradition of watching Donald Duck (Kalle Anka) cartoons as a part of that nation’s annual celebration of Christmas and was fascinated. At 3 p.m. on Christmas Eve, much of the Swedish population tunes in to view a television special featuring ‘Donald Duck and his friends’ and have done this for many many years. After reading about this tradition, I wrote a few Kalle Anka blogs. This was the first in that series.

7. Tennessee Tornadoes (November 16, 2011)
A recurring theme throughout these 500 posts has been my interest in meteorology. I have written numerous weather-related posts. This one, from November 2011, commemorated the anniversary of the infamous November 2002 Tennessee Tornadoes.

6. The Bridge (October 10, 2012)
Last fall, we were all wondering what the next chapters of our lives would bring. Holly wasn’t sure what she was going to do after graduation, Paul was starting his college search and I was contemplating what was next in my career. The Bridge - from here to there - seemed like the perfect metaphor to sum up where we were at that point in our lives. 

5. The Letter (May 23, 2013)
During our clean-up of the downstairs storage room earlier this year, I found a letter I wrote to myself to be opened on May 23, 2013.  I penned the piece in January 2001. It was fascinating to read the contents. I shared many of those thoughts in my pre-birthday post.

4. Prep Day (June 25, 2013) 
Some Coach Jeff topics are light but a few are more serious. This one was my attempt at a PSA, of sorts, to encourage people to get their baseline colonoscopy screening. I was heartened a few weeks after this post, that I received a note from one of my readers asking for tips and encouragement as she went through the procedure herself.

3. 17 (November 8, 2012)
The number 17 plays a big role around our house and in our family. This blog celebrates the significane of 'numero dix-sept!’

2. Sense of Community (January 29, 2013)
Over the course of the last 24 months, I probably wrote more about Farragut High School than any one single topic. And, I probably wrote more about FHS theatre than another other activity at the school (for obvious reasons). It would be impossible to list all of those FHS theatre blogs. This one, however, is representative as it celebrates the sense of community that developed in the program while we (and the other parents of 2013 seniors) were active volunteers.

1. Remembering the Choppers Championship (June 22, 2012)
I call this the “Coach Jeff Blog” for a reason! I spent 11 years as a volunteer coach and league official for Farragut Baseball, Inc. My team, the Choppers, celebrated their last game on the field by winning the Knox County Championship in June of 2010. This blog celebrated the second anniversary of that accomplishment. I’ve written many times, over the past two years, about baseball, youth baseball and our Choppers experience. This one, I think, is the right one to list here to capture the essence of those 11 years on the field and in the dugout!

As I mentioned earlier, it was impossible for me to get the list down to just 10. Here are three additional 'honorable mention’ blogs I’d like to list. First, I’ve written a lot about childhood activities. On May 30, 2012, I wrote about my favorite childhood candy, Starburst, in “A Burst of Refreshing Fruit Flavor®.” It’s a good one to be a representative post. Also during the summer of 2012, Holly went to France and had a wonderful experience. I wrote many France-related posts that summer. This one, Midnight in Paris, (June 25, 2012) notes her first impressions of her study abroad. 

On the topic of baseball, a piece I really enjoyed writing was “Thank You, Paul Wilson”(May 7, 2013), which talked about the time Paul Gary met the former major league pitcher and had such a positive experience.

Here are couple other honorable mentions I’d like to…well…mention. First, we all got into a genealogy phase last spring and summer after the 1940 US Census was made available. Here is my first family history post inspired by the census release. And finally, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the fifth member of the household, Roger the Cat. He has been featured prominently in many blogs. Here is one of my favorites.

So, I hope you have enjoyed this 500th posting on Coach Jeff’s Blog. Thanks for reading along and helping me celebrate this milestone. I hope you will continue to follow the blog, subscribe to it and suggest ideas. Meanwhile, I plan to keep on writing.

You know, 500 is just halfway to a thousand!

JG

Originally posted 8/8/2013