Today I’m wearing clothes

Sitting upright and wearing actual clothing—a big change from the last, oh, two weeks. I’ve been suffering from a virus that is “just like covid” according to a PA I did a virtual visit with, but isn’t covid according to the tests I took. Basically I feel awful, no energy, goopy eyes, constant coughing, sore throat, shortness of breath, brain fog, aches and pains.

I spent the first week sleeping as much as I could and taking the generic equivalent of Dayquil/Nyquil; then I did the televisit and got a prescription for something called Benzonatate for the sleep-destroying cough, which works, but I still feel like shit.

A sad end to hot crone summer! Time to move on to the next phase, obv, which is

Here’s my anniversary post from last year, one of my top posts ever. I don’t know if I can do it again. But I’ll ignore that and press on. I am hampered, however, by a strong desire to go and lie down. This virus is no joke.

What are my big plans? I thought I might try out a Substack template and maybe upgrade the logo, which I made myself in 2023 using Canva or whatever it’s called. But that’s probably going to be a longer term project. Or will it? Maybe I’ll have a burst of ambition and do a quick job of it. Who can say?

I’m also thinking about adding more content categories! Or different content features. Maybe I will recommend some other newsletters or specific posts once a week! Maybe I will do “roundups” on hand-picked topics. I will probably continue with the “Content Consumption” posts at the beginning/end of the month. Maybe I’ll try another reader survey–the last one was fun. And Veronica is here to stay. We might even get another cat.

Mostly I’m trying to pull myself out of a slump of not trying very hard, which was preceded by not having to try very hard, since Hot Crone Summer was supposed to be about enjoying myself and having fun. Which I did. I always like spending time at home with my guys1 and of course, my cat.

The other big milestone is, at this moment at least, I have 500 subscribers! Which is way more than I ever expected. I am humbly grateful to everyone who has subscribed, whether you’re related to me or know me from high school or who just came across me one day and subscribed in that what-the-hell-why-not moment. Also the people who found the link in the Times comments, because I know you are MY demographic.2

What have I learned from writing this weekly missive for the past three years? I have confirmed that I’m not very organized, although I can be somewhat brilliant off the cuff; I have no fear of revealing embarrassing personal facts; I like to write much more than I thought I did.3 Also writing one thousand words no longer daunts me, it’s amazing how fast they add up.4

After a life spent around reading and writing (publishing, editing, bookselling, librarianship) I’m so happy to have Crone Life to fuck around with. Writing is not easy and especially, academic writing. When I was an undergraduate I never did very well writing papers. Typical comment, recalled almost 45 years later so it may or may not be accurate: “Your writing is quite facile but without substance.” I mean, what do you expect from a 19 year old? I knew a lot of words but I didn’t actually know anything.

At 65, I know a lot more. Unlike college, when I was constantly trying to stuff in as many difficult intellectual achievements as possible to retain my prodigy cred, I now know I need to slow down in order to accomplish my desires. I’m also going back to work full time this week as I have almost run out of PTO.

Thus, I am taking a break from publishing until October. I may be around for Labor Day in order to post Content Consumption (probably),5 but otherwise I will be brainstorming and implementing ideas to take Crone Life into the future. If you have suggestions, please leave them in the comments.

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