100 Substack Posts

But Who's Counting?

This is the 100^th post on my Substack space:

RECOLLECTIONS, REFLECTIONS, FANTASIES, FICTIONS: SCENES OF A LIFE I THINK WAS MINE

You may be thinking, as you read it, “You mean that’s all? Only 100?!”

I’ve been posting pieces at the rate of two a week for a while now, and I know that’s a lot. A couple of you have even gently told me so – though you’ve stayed with me as subscribers anyway, for which I thank you. Others have mentioned, either in person or by email, that  you’re “a bit behind” in looking at pieces, or “still catching up” with some of them. And you’ve stayed with me too. Again, thanks so much.

I’m delighted that you might even want to catch up, and honored that you all have taken the time and trouble to subscribe, and sometimes have a look at pieces which may catch your interest. And especially pleased, of course, when you let me know with a comment that something has caught your interest.

Writing is lonely, as they say, but thinking of you as I do it makes it a little less so. This is meant to be fun (sometimes serious fun), and a way of building a little community in which we’re together for the time it takes to write and read the pieces – and maybe even think and share a little about some matters related to living (and, yes, dying, since some have mentioned that I do seem to write a lot about death!).

Since 100 is a milestone number, I wanted to take a look back at some of the pieces which do seem to have caught your interest – and a few which haven’t, quite so much. This is a good time to mention that almost half the pieces haven’t gone out as emails. One day they may hit your email inbox, but for now they’re in my Substack archive, waiting patiently, hopefully for any who might want to read them.

Of those that have gone out, however, these are the top three in terms of “views,” to use the Substack term – all related to Houston Art History:

1.     Why Research Houston’s Art History (614 views)

2.     A Jug Of Wine, a Dinner Guest, and Art! (427 views)

3.     Portraits Of Myrtle: But Who Is Myrtle? (400 views)

It’s not a surprise that these posts, and others relating to Houston art, are tops, since many of you subscribed to my Substack after having been on the email list of HETAG: Houston Earlier Texas Art Group already. I hope you haven’t been disappointed that I’m posting on a number of other topics here which don’t have a HETAG slant. If pieces on Houston Art History are those you’d most like to see, you can pull them out of the archive by selecting that tab on my Substack homepage.

 Of the pieces that are NOT Houston Art History, these are the top three – two with gay themes, set in St. Louis in the past, and one about the isolation of early COVID:

1.     I Speak It – For Those Who Dared Not (342 views)

2.     Truths Universally Acknowledged (324 views)

3.     Guess Who’s NOT Coming To Dinner: Remembering the Pandemic Lockdown (315 views)

These are just six out of a hundred, so there are lots more. One was a personal milestone – the 24,000 word novella I completed by writing and publishing it in serial parts, after decades of thinking I couldn’t write anything longer than 1500 words (another novella-in-parts will begin soon!):

Song Of the Amorous Frogs – A Story Of Paris In the 1920s

And another one going back to the beginning of my love affair with Paris:

The First Time I Saw Paris – Letters From 50 Years Ago

There have also been pieces on a range of topics – cooking, needlepointing, even an art review, which I used to do quite a few of for The Houston Press, but hadn’t done in years:

1.     Let’s Make Soupe À L’Onion (French Onion Soup)

2.     My Tibetan Tiger Bag

3.     Marc Bauer’s RESILIENCE at Menil Drawing Institute

And many more:

1.     Memoirs aplenty

2.     Yes, my frequent looks at DEATH

3.     And even one in which I dialog with FAT

With your support, and using the technology of Substack, I’ve written more consistently in the last year than ever before in my life. For me it’s been exhilarating and fun. I hope it’s been somewhat fun for you too (I suspect you wouldn’t still be a subscriber if it hadn’t been, at least a little bit). I’m looking forward to the next 100. A few of them are already in first draft.

Now I’d better get back to writing instead of reminiscing. I need to have another piece ready in just four days!