Ahh....that k you, my dear brother. For caring so deeply about me, my crazy, amazing kids, and my worries about them. And of course, for the bike rack!!!😁 We can't wait to ride with you!!!! Like when we were kids...and this one time...I fell of my bike, that I called black beauty, and skinned my knee.... Stop me if you've heard this before...so I was riding in front of Grammy's house, and that one slab of sidewalk...you remember the one... 😝😳😂🤣😂🤣🙄 "She's gonna go ON AND ON...." Love yew!
Glad to have found you via Chris La Tray - a nourishing piece of writing - like all best writing, it reminds me of what I already know but don't always manage, and helps me to feel less alone. Thank you! 🙏🏻
I agree with you about audiobooks. They certainly have a place, and help expose to literature to wider audiences. But listening to somebody else read means there's a degree of distance between your mind and that of the author.
Losing yourself in a good book is a form of direct communion - and one you can partake of at your own pace, lingering over a well-turned phrase, or pausing completely to savour the reverberations in delicious silence.
Love the idea of taking your niblings out for bike rides, etc. I find the hardest part is getting everyone out the door (including myself) -- once we're out, we're golden, kids love exploration & discovery & generally being a lot faster and more daring than I am. :) I hope y'all have an amazing time.
And yeah, Jon Ronson is one of those writers who (I think) seems like he might be a bit of a crank what with writing about cults and internet trends and so on, but actually I find him pretty insightful and a good read. I'm glad you enjoyed him.
Apr 30, 2023·edited Apr 30, 2023Liked by Thomas Pluck
Another great one, Tom. I particularly dig this: "I’m going to buy my sister a 3-bike rack for her car, and we’ll drag their little asses out to parks." Drag them out there. DRAG THEM!
Kids are funny and weird. A couple little ne'er do wells toodled by my house on their bikes last night when I was sitting on my front porch having just devoured an excellent bison burger. The boy gave me that surly side-eye so common to kids who can't possibly manage a poker face, but the girl flipped a U-ee to tell me she got new sandals earlier and then shared a couple other details. It made me happy, not only because it was a beautiful evening and I was happy to see them actually outside, but that she took the time to engage with me.
Also, if not for my own 1000 hours project, I might not have been out there at all myself! We ALL need to drag our asses outside more, don't we?
I want to drop Twitter so badly. This week I spent far too much energy trying to figure out why/when someone in my writing genre community blocked me, both on their personal and public accounts. Really, I should just shrug it off and go on-we don't even know each other real life. And I know social media in general has messed with my attention span and focus. I never thought I'd consider reading a book through the end an actual accomplishment as opposed to a matter of course, but it's where I am now. And that's how I'm slowly staging my escape/refocus outside of the online world.
Your Substack helps, as do the other ones I follow/newsletters I get from writers.
Ahh....that k you, my dear brother. For caring so deeply about me, my crazy, amazing kids, and my worries about them. And of course, for the bike rack!!!😁 We can't wait to ride with you!!!! Like when we were kids...and this one time...I fell of my bike, that I called black beauty, and skinned my knee.... Stop me if you've heard this before...so I was riding in front of Grammy's house, and that one slab of sidewalk...you remember the one... 😝😳😂🤣😂🤣🙄 "She's gonna go ON AND ON...." Love yew!
Glad to have found you via Chris La Tray - a nourishing piece of writing - like all best writing, it reminds me of what I already know but don't always manage, and helps me to feel less alone. Thank you! 🙏🏻
I agree with you about audiobooks. They certainly have a place, and help expose to literature to wider audiences. But listening to somebody else read means there's a degree of distance between your mind and that of the author.
Losing yourself in a good book is a form of direct communion - and one you can partake of at your own pace, lingering over a well-turned phrase, or pausing completely to savour the reverberations in delicious silence.
Love the idea of taking your niblings out for bike rides, etc. I find the hardest part is getting everyone out the door (including myself) -- once we're out, we're golden, kids love exploration & discovery & generally being a lot faster and more daring than I am. :) I hope y'all have an amazing time.
And yeah, Jon Ronson is one of those writers who (I think) seems like he might be a bit of a crank what with writing about cults and internet trends and so on, but actually I find him pretty insightful and a good read. I'm glad you enjoyed him.
Another great one, Tom. I particularly dig this: "I’m going to buy my sister a 3-bike rack for her car, and we’ll drag their little asses out to parks." Drag them out there. DRAG THEM!
Kids are funny and weird. A couple little ne'er do wells toodled by my house on their bikes last night when I was sitting on my front porch having just devoured an excellent bison burger. The boy gave me that surly side-eye so common to kids who can't possibly manage a poker face, but the girl flipped a U-ee to tell me she got new sandals earlier and then shared a couple other details. It made me happy, not only because it was a beautiful evening and I was happy to see them actually outside, but that she took the time to engage with me.
Also, if not for my own 1000 hours project, I might not have been out there at all myself! We ALL need to drag our asses outside more, don't we?
I want to drop Twitter so badly. This week I spent far too much energy trying to figure out why/when someone in my writing genre community blocked me, both on their personal and public accounts. Really, I should just shrug it off and go on-we don't even know each other real life. And I know social media in general has messed with my attention span and focus. I never thought I'd consider reading a book through the end an actual accomplishment as opposed to a matter of course, but it's where I am now. And that's how I'm slowly staging my escape/refocus outside of the online world.
Your Substack helps, as do the other ones I follow/newsletters I get from writers.