Here it is, 4:15 on a rainy, nasty Wednesday afternoon in the Sunshine State and I happened to stop and take a look at where I am Substack-wise. I’m not big on the numbers and I know folks get ticked off at people boasting about thousands of subscribers or how much money they made. Not me. Two folks bought copies of my McFarland book on “Teaching Huckleberry Finn” so far this year. Got me $2.75. Really.
But with over 700 Substack subscribers, (Thanks, folks!) approaching 500 posts, (about 30 away - give me to the end of the week) and reflecting on all I’ve written so far, it’s been surprising and fun to see what’s taken off and connected with readers. I remember reading Bruce Springsteen saying that “You might write a great song but it’s not great until you play it for someone.”
I’m proud of what I’ve done here, maybe some of the best writing I’ve done so far. But it’s always difficult for a writer to judge his own work. Mark Twain thought “Joan Of Arc” was his best work. He might have been the only one to think so.
I’ve explored a wide range of topics, what have you enjoyed the most? What were YOUR favorites — if there were any? Drop me a note, I’d love to hear what you think.
What I imagine will be my all-time champ is my Paul Westerberg post, now with 16,295 views or approximately the entire population of Hampton Beach, New Hampshire where I got my first sunburn, used to go to try to find bootleg albums and imagine that the girls would be waiting for me. (They weren’t.)
Since I’ve had a pretty broad writing horizon; my last several posts: — chess, teaching, Bruce Springsteen, race, Tom Petty and corporate takeovers, Bryan Ferry, Warren Spahn and Stan Musial, bluesman Howlin’ Wolf, author Ray Bradbury and bluesman Robert Johnson — it’s not exactly niche, is it?
So far, anyhow, I guess it’s worked. Thanks again to so many of you who’ve commented on the things I’ve sent up there. I read every single comment and try to respond to a lot of them. As I explained to a friend a while back, to me, I think of my Substack as a one-way conversation; I just don’t always get to hear you on the other end. Speak up! (hahaha)
Having written so often since May 8, 2024, I’ve honestly been surprised at some of what ends up on the page. Which is a weird thing to say for the person who puts these words on the page. But this almost daily practice has brought out things that I might not have ever thought of, had I not been Substacking.
For example, just the other day, I’d read a Boston Globe story about the truancy problem up in New England. Having taught at Gadsden County for a dozen years, I know all about the problems that go along with truancy and when I started to write the other morning, I thought that’s where I was going to go.
But when I sat down, thinking about the opening of another school year, I remembered seeing my former student’s excited post on Facebook, about how happy she was to greet her kids and the next thing you know, I’m writing about that element of teaching, those first few days of school, wondering what Central Casting will send you this year. I’ll get to truancy later.
Since I’m lucky enough to have my list of subscribers keep growing, there have been lots of posts I figured they never saw and might like. So, I’ve tried to throw a few golden oldies up on my Notes from time to time, like the post I put up on those missing J.D. Salinger stories we were promised. The Guardian did a really nice story about the issue with Salinger’s son, Matt back in 2019 but it was SIX YEARS ago. We still ain’t seen, em. How about a follow-up, kids?
As I mentioned before, it’s a treat for me to see someone comment today on something I wrote two or three or more months ago. I think that’s a great feature of Substack, that the posts remain available for you — if you’re interested.
Just for grins, in case you might have missed something, here’s a list of my most viewed stories so far in 2025. Again, thanks to each and every one of you who’ve tuned in. Hope you keep finding enjoyment in what I’m tossing out there. Again, drop me a note. Would love to hear from my friends…
The Hit List in 2025 - So far…
Want still more Bob Dylan?: 1.84K
“Exile On Main Street” vs. the world: 1.6K
Greatest Album (Sgt. Pepper) coulda been better: 1.52K
Baseball scouts ain’t psychic: 1.52K
“Take it easy, Garth (Hudson): 1.51K
Trump’s invited: Neil Young says: 1.47K
Springsteen’s perfect album side: 1.41K
The Band’s “Rock Of Ages”: 1.39K
Somebody oughta tell Paul (Westerberg): 1.39K
Bono’s “Surrender” is hardly that: 1.3K
Neil Young: The Peacemaker: 1.28K
On Truth, Bob Dylan and our world: 1.27K
Bryan Ferry’s “Loose Talk”: 1.11K
Dylan’s “Shelter From The Storm”: 1.09K
Bruce used to be mine: 1.04 K
High School coverage: Too much?: 1.04K
Did we whitewash Whitey (Ford)?: 1.04K
Christgau, Bangs, rock’s critical canon: 1.02K
Neil Young’s new/old album: 976
Not Dark Yet (Dylan’s Masked and Anonymous): 962
The Geno (Auriemma) you don’t know: 952
Mickey Mantle bows out: 945
Uncle Bob (Dylan’s) back pages: 927
John - not sure how you ended up in my feed but I subscribed after reading a few hits. Just watched full the Clash video from the Joe Strummer piece. MLB fan. Good topics (I grew up in 70’s-80s Boston) and then I see you are a newspaper guy. Explains the good writing and appeal to a H S Thompson fan.
I really enjoyed the piece on Christgau and Bangs, and your provocative takes on Neil Young.