One Year Gone...
An Update, and Five Good Things for June
Hello, friends—
Hard to believe, but it’s been one year since the launch of these dispatches. Your kindness and generosity in reading, sharing, and supporting my work here has been overwhelming and given me some of the most treasured creative moments of the past year.
First, a quick update. I launched The Rose Fire at a time when I had considerably more time to allocate to this aspect of my personal work. A few months into the project, I was unexpectedly promoted to a new postion (Executive Editor of Nelson Books), and the resulting increase in professional expectations has dramatically reduced my availability to craft these dispatches to the level I need to see to feel good about sharing my writing. I am not generally a perfectionist, but I care so much about each thing I write. It just takes time.
My intention of a weekly post (achieved handily in the early days!) has proven impossible over the past months—indeed even a monthly post has proven to be difficult. As a result, I am pausing paid subscriptions until I have the time to feel great about asking people to support that writing time again.
Nothing besides that payment status is changing. These dispatches are by no means ending. In the very near future, I have an excellent guest post on deck, new poetry, and some nonfiction writing that I can’t wait to share with you. However, I simply need to acknowledge that I am limited in my energies, and order my publishing life accordingly. (If you’re a subscriber, please don’t drop me! There should not be any action you need to take. If you have any questions, simply message me.)
There are tides to our work lives, as there are to all things, but it’s become clear to me that I simply need to press “pause” on payments at this point, while still building something special with you here. Again, there are wonderful things in store here, just with a little more time between them.
Thanks for understanding. We’re in this together.
With that update updated, a little fun for a world badly in need of it. Here are Five Good Things for the month of June.
1. The Little Snowie Max
It started when I didn’t get a snow cone at the co-op party. (Pouty face.) It got serious with this almost-industrial quality ice shaver that appeared for Father’s Day. It is continuing with ENDLESS SNOW COATED IN LE SIROPS DE MONIN from the local Chef’s Supply store.
Is it deafening to use indoors? Yep. It is a ridiculous expression of “late-stage capitalism”? Of course. But the Pastor family has finally seized the frosty means of production. IT IS SUMMER. LET IT SNOW.
2. The Bumpkin Play
I won’t say much about this, except that this is the most delightful work of philosophy that I have ever read. Witty, profound, deeply sincere, and good for the soul, Goobet’s journey in this raucous “found” play turns existence into a dance.
Pickstock is one of our leading contemporary philosophers, teaching at the University of Cambridge. She is sharp, funny, and has a wonderful depth of soul. The book goes halfway over my head (for I am much like Goobet, its main character), but I love it all the more for that. Published earlier this year, by Angelico Press.
3. “Rarely Do I Dream,” by Youth Lagoon
The latest project from Idaho’s Trevor Powers is a combination of old home VHS tape voiceovers, synth stuff (but not in an annoying way), and great songwriting. Summer soundtrack here, along with Dan Reeder (but Dan tends to swear sumthin awful so watch it if the kids are around, ‘cause they might not know all the words yet).
4. “Desdemona,” by David Austin Roses
I am not a great gardener. I am lazy, distractible, and suffer from a terrible sort of gardening Darwinism that looks at stuff I’ve planted and thinks I wonder if that will survive if I really don’t do anything to help it at all ever again. Fortunately, I tend to plant things that rise, furious and vibrant to forgive my neglect and reward me with their bounty. I love my little orchard, my frowzy herb garden, and the general mess and tumble of the yard around our little home.
With that said, I love my roses, and we now have eight varieties of David Austins, which are the best roses in the world, and you really have no idea unless you’ve seen them. I don’t know what it is. Other roses are faking it, and you’ll know that when you see the David Austins.
Emily gifts me a new bare root variety for my birthday each year. This year it was Desdemona (many of their roses are literary somehow), and she is incredibly hardy, lovely, and just great. I recommend her.
5. Capture-the-Flag
Let’s just say that I may be on the last lap of my thirties, but I still have it, kids. Last week’s games at the family beach vacation were great, and the Pastor kids and their cousins (plus the always-elegant and highly-competitive Emily, myself, and various combinations of in-laws) had a great time, particularly playing this age-old summer favorite. The forays were glorious.
In one peak moment of drama, “Papa Bill” (a former U.S. Navy ordinance-disposal diver, basically the bomb squad of the sea) secretly crept for nearly half-an-hour into the depths of an ancient huckleberry bush to leap forth and spring me from “prison” and to, eventually, ultimate victory, snatching the bean bag “flag” from the very jaws of defeat.
But seriously, in a world as desperate, distracted, and despairing as ours is at the moment, the breathless laughing of three generations twisting their ankle and grass-staining their jeans (before consuming several SNOW CONES) is, in its way, an incursion of the advance guard of Light into the Kingdom of Darkness.
All told, a pleasant way to fight for what matters.
What is bringing you joy, my dear friends?
Yours—and more soon from me and The Rose Fire,
Paul
Very good stuff! Never enough roses or snow cones.
Hooray for snow cones!