Wouldya look at that?

Check the thermometer, over there in the sidebar, dear people. Scroll down. Admire your own handiwork.

After a grand beginning, then several weeks of fits and starts … you sent the temperature soaring.

We are 2/3 of the way through the fundraiser today and exceeding expectations.

Total as of this morning: $3,978

Number of donors: 39 — which includes one who donated three times and two who donated twice

Largest donation: $685 — not counting the matching donor who’ll step in at the end of the event

Average donation: $102

Smallest donation: 23,497 satoshis — which is 0.00023497 of a Bitcoin or roughly $2

And if that’s not already wow enough, Since Friday night 9 of those 39 donors contributed a total of $1,212, an average of $134.67 per person.

But then, we have no “average” donors around here.

I’m moved beyond words by B, the blogfriend who’s fallen on hard times but still managed to make an even larger donation than he’s made in the past. And by DT, who I feared had left the blog in anger, but who started off the weekend’s boom with a bang. I’m grateful to JW, the Father of the Fundraiser. To D3 who’s always there and TW who surprised me. And the many others who dug into their pockets and found $100 or more to spare.

But I’m no less thankful for PJ’s satoshis, or the doubled and tripled gifts from CC, TK, and TF. Or the clever sum from JC that took us exactly to the halfway point last week. Or the check from PT that she really couldn’t spare, but sent regardless. I’m thrilled to see the first-time donors, large and small, as well as the long-time readers who’ve chosen this very helpful way of saying they benefit from the blog.

The big gifts are a thrill. No doubt about it; and I’ll put them to good use. But knowing the blog matters to readers — many readers — lifts my spirits. When somebody who doesn’t have a lot finds $5 or $10 or $20 to spare, that’s big. It means a great deal to me. It says I’ve reached you with a message that meant something to you.

That’s what writers live for. That’s what a freedomista writer most needs to know in these strange and sometimes perilous days.

Now I’m off to give my personal thanks to the most recent contributors.