Weird stuff happens overnight

For several years now, I've worked as night local editor at the paper, which means I've seen a bunch of strange things take place.

In the newsroom and out in the "real world." Bad crimes, good reporting. Crime reporters stuck in bad neighborhoods. Some lost, some not. Cops make really good arrests and some really bad decisions.

But last night, something happened that I never imagined when I began this blog. I knew that sometime this week my blog would reach a milestone, and it happened sometime between my hitting the sack and arising this morning.

The milestone: More than 10,000 page views of this blog since its creation last year. For some blogs, that's not a blip on the radar screen, for others its an enormous amount. A few moments ago, 10,009 views were on record.

I know it's the same dozen friends clicking onto the site off and on during the day. You know who you are. I'd like to encourage you to click on some of the ads on the site since that will raise money for Florida Hospital's Cancer Institute, which saved my life. So far, the site has raised just a smidge under $9. So there's a lot of money raising to go before Google will cut me a check at $100 or more.

But the point of the blog is not to raise money, but to raise awareness about a disease that is little known but growing. In fact, cancer of the esophagus is the fastest-growing form of the disease, and it's hitting men and women alike. And it's caused by a common problem among working Americans: Heartburn, GERD, acid reflux and the like. Which means folks in my profession and others under a lot of stress are highly vulnerable.

So please, please if you have recurring acid reflux or heartburn, see a doctor who can conduct an endoscopic exam of you gullet. You'll be asleep during the procedure and you won't feel a thing afterwards. But it could save your life.

Really. Would I lie to you?