The other night, I realized that my book club emails kinda suck. Maybe not for the handful of you following along with the book each month (I salute you), but for the vast majority of you who signed up for this newsletter, you probably don’t want to get quotes and passages from books you’re not reading. I also assume you signed up to hear my perspective. And when I copy and paste passages from other writers, this whole thing becomes a little paint-by-numbers, at which point, I may as well let Chat GPT take the wheel.
My Tacoma was my home for a while and will be again next summer. I loved the minimalist aspect of living in a truck and the ease of adventure it catered to. It has served as a great tool for hunting trips, trailhead access, and to get to epic campsites.
This came at a cool time when I was listening to the podcast below. A beautiful meditation on 'animism' and the aliveness of the world around us. Is the humble atom alive? The Black Stone at Mecca?
Not unrelated, my answer is a small black teddy bear picked out and given me by my brother and sister on my naming day. Matted, travelled, dusted, and infused with smell and tears. There is life in that bear. It's strange to me how important it is.
Can my answer be big as a house? Because it’s my cabin in the woods. My family’s on record having owned it in 1929- before that there are no records of the place. I still bake biscuits in the same oven my grandma used, which double-served to heat the house until I installed a hand-me-down wood-burning stove. I snooze in the seme patch of sun in the backyard where she tanned, and I’m feeding god-only-knows what generation of turkeys and bunnies (my family has a soft spot for wild things.)
Pema Chodren drove by me on my walk yesterday. She's a neighbor. I think Scarlett Jovannson is my only really prized possession, for many of the reasons you elucidate. She takes me to remote places in comfort. What could be better than that? I love her low diesel growl. I love the big wide-screen windshield. All the other stuff I've tried to save over the years has vanished. The camera my boss gifted me in 1986 when I quit my job in NYC, the Mayan stone figures the local guys gave me in San Cristobal de las Casas in 1983, arrowheads ... I don't know where it all went.
This was a good conversation starter for Dave and I. It was somewhat difficult for both of us to think of a thing. We both thought of our house and our van. Well Dave thought of the van because he built it and is more connected to it than I am. My first thought was my library cad but is that really a position? A life without books would make me very sad but I don’t need to own them. I think my most valuable possession is having the resources and privilege to be able to travel and do what I want to most of the time.
I like this new format/idea. Although I did read your last book club book. I didn’t really feel like taking about it online.
My Tacoma was my home for a while and will be again next summer. I loved the minimalist aspect of living in a truck and the ease of adventure it catered to. It has served as a great tool for hunting trips, trailhead access, and to get to epic campsites.
A man. His Taco. The great beyond.
This came at a cool time when I was listening to the podcast below. A beautiful meditation on 'animism' and the aliveness of the world around us. Is the humble atom alive? The Black Stone at Mecca?
Not unrelated, my answer is a small black teddy bear picked out and given me by my brother and sister on my naming day. Matted, travelled, dusted, and infused with smell and tears. There is life in that bear. It's strange to me how important it is.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/4ylkEQWlAbGIG1dXWE4XuH?si=028bd4bf73a14bed
I have a similar teddy bear. His name is Benjamin. Maybe they can meet sometime.
Can my answer be big as a house? Because it’s my cabin in the woods. My family’s on record having owned it in 1929- before that there are no records of the place. I still bake biscuits in the same oven my grandma used, which double-served to heat the house until I installed a hand-me-down wood-burning stove. I snooze in the seme patch of sun in the backyard where she tanned, and I’m feeding god-only-knows what generation of turkeys and bunnies (my family has a soft spot for wild things.)
Multigenerational joy.
🤗💕
Pema Chodren drove by me on my walk yesterday. She's a neighbor. I think Scarlett Jovannson is my only really prized possession, for many of the reasons you elucidate. She takes me to remote places in comfort. What could be better than that? I love her low diesel growl. I love the big wide-screen windshield. All the other stuff I've tried to save over the years has vanished. The camera my boss gifted me in 1986 when I quit my job in NYC, the Mayan stone figures the local guys gave me in San Cristobal de las Casas in 1983, arrowheads ... I don't know where it all went.
What I’m hearing here is that you need to do a podcast with Pema Chodren.
My family, but really they are not my possessions, they are souls who just happen to be joining me on this journey ☯️
I wear it every day on my index finger
my late dad's wedding ring
This was a good conversation starter for Dave and I. It was somewhat difficult for both of us to think of a thing. We both thought of our house and our van. Well Dave thought of the van because he built it and is more connected to it than I am. My first thought was my library cad but is that really a position? A life without books would make me very sad but I don’t need to own them. I think my most valuable possession is having the resources and privilege to be able to travel and do what I want to most of the time.
I like this new format/idea. Although I did read your last book club book. I didn’t really feel like taking about it online.