This pathetic little blog doesn’t get many visitors, most of the time. Today has been a little different. I notice a number of people coming here today via searches for “Michael Burton” combined with words like “kills wife” and “murder.” You’d be surprised how that makes a fella feel.

Tip: If you’re searching for a recent news story, you might want to try Google’s news search. I just did, and I’m relieved to say it’s not me.

This isn’t the first time I’ve been mistaken for someone else with the same name. Some years ago, there was a male model here in Columbus named Mike Burton, and from time to time a local newspaper or magazine would run a feature story on him and his booming career, complete with photos. I could tell when these stories had appeared, because my phone would start ringing. Suddenly there were lots of people in town who wanted to meet me — male and female in about equal numbers — and it could be tough to convince some callers they’d reached the wrong guy.

One of my friends said I should take some of the ladies up on their offer to meet me, but I never did. I couldn’t have handled the look of disappointment in their eyes.

Poking around on the internet, I see there are lots and lots of Michael Burtons out there — some very admirable ones, and others not very admirable at all. It’s probably inevitable that there will sometimes be some confusion over this — hey, in 2004 I got a White House Christmas card and a letter of thanks from George W. Bush.

Folks, if you must confuse me with another person of the same name — no crimes worse than supporting Bush in 2004, please.