August 26, 2015--"Behind's" 10th Anniversary

Ten years ago today I began Behind the (New York) Times, thinking I had come up with a clever, self-effacing title, a good source of material (The NYT),  and something to keep me occupied as I began to work less.

Friends, Noki and Alex Trias, encouraged me and helped set up the blog format and site. In truth, they did all the work with me watching.

During these 10 years I published 2,657 postings, an average of 266 a year. Originally, I wrote something six days a week but after five years or so, as I began to feel the effects of time, cut back to five.

What has kept me going (besides age-defying ambition and feeling I might have something to say) are all the responses I have received from readers. I've depended on that encouragement to keep me going, especially when it's Thursday and I don't have anything interesting to say for Friday.

So please keep encouraging me and, equally important, giving me grief when I write something stupid.

Here's the first posting from August 26, 2005. Feels like a lifetime ago.

August 26, 2005--The News That Fits

How big was that catfish they caught the other day in the Mekong River in Thailand? The NY Times reported that it might have been the largest freshwater fish ever. I'm not that interested in the size of catfish; just how they taste. What interested me most was that the fisherman who caught it was given $90 dollars (the boat owner $2,000!) and that he was giving the $90 to his father. My friend Alex, who has a two-month old son said, "I'm going to clip this story, save it, and give it to Jose when he's 18 so he can learn what kind of son to be." That Alex!