#497: Article Club Roll Call

We’re coming up on 10 years and 500 issues. It's time for us to see who’s here.

Dear Loyal Readers,

I’m happy to report that my school is out for summer. The last day was Tuesday. Graduation was Tuesday. Our staff dinner was Tuesday. Grades were due yesterday. Now I relax — until summer school begins on Monday. Turns out, being a principal is not easy. Thank you for your kind words over the past couple weeks.

Now that I have more time, I’m excited to devote more attention to Article Club. In just a few weeks, this newsletter will arrive at its 10-year anniversary and its 500th issue. I was thinking the other day: How many activities have I participated in consistently on a weekly basis for almost a decade? The list is short. (What’s your list?) But because I believe in the power of reading in community, and because you all have appreciated the articles I’ve shared over the years, Article Club has been a meaningful endeavor, one that has brought joy and connection and reflection and empathy to many of us. Thank you very much for being here.

All right: This week’s issue will be a little different. I want to do three things:

1. Get to know you better

2. Invite you to a celebration

3. Share one great article

I hope you scroll down and read along. And I hope you’re doing well and have a great weekend ahead.

1️⃣ Here’s Abby and Sara. They’ve been Article Clubbers for many years. Abby is Sara’s daughter; Sara is Abby’s mom. They’re both wonderful. In particular, Sara has participated in 15 monthly article discussions. She comes mightily prepared, with many pages of copious notes, ready to listen and learn and share her thoughts. (If you ever decide to join one of our discussions, don’t worry, you don’t need to prepare like Sara does!)

There are two reasons I’m introducing Abby and Sara to you. The first is to say they’re great; you should meet them! The second is to say that Article Club is more than the articles I share and the blurbs I write. It’s the kind people who read it. It’s the thoughtful people who come to the discussions. It’s all of you who keep saying yes to having this newsletter come to your inbox or your Substack app.

When Article Club started 10 years ago, I knew every single subscriber. It was all friends and family. Now there are more than 1,500 subscribers. Most of you, I don’t know. That’s fine, of course — you’re not obligated to make yourself known.

➡️ But if you’re open to it, I’d love for you to say hi and (re)introduce yourself. Let’s have an Article Club Roll Call. Who are you? Why did you subscribe to Article Club? What do you appreciate about it? And what do you hope for Article Club in its second decade?

You don’t have to write much. You don’t have to be fancy. But I would be delighted and extremely grateful if you wrote a 2-4 sentences to say hi.

There are two ways to do this:

1. By writing a public message in the comments, by clicking below

2. By writing a private message to me, by emailing mark@articleclub.org

I look forward to this Article Club Roll Call!

Here are some pretty great, joyous Article Clubbers at a recent HHH

2️⃣ Let’s celebrate 10 years and 500 issues! If you’ve been a subscriber for some time, and if you live in the Bay Area, you likely know about Highlighter Happy Hour, or HHH, our quarterly in-person meet-up of Article Clubbers. (Why is it called HHH? Well, that’s because back in the day, this newsletter used to be called The Highlighter, and we’ve never gotten around to changing the event’s name.)

➡️ To celebrate the first decade of Article Club, I warmly invite all of us to gather on Thursday, June 26 at Room 389 in Oakland, beginning at 5:30 pm. I’m calling this event HHH 500.

This means you’re invited! HHH is a great way to connect with fellow loyal readers and reflect on the articles. It’s also a great way to meet new people, deepen relationships, offer your perspective, and listen with empathy.

I hope you can make it! (For all of you lovers of prizes, prizes will be at 7 pm.)

And if you don’t live in the Bay Area and want to celebrate, don’t worry, I got you: I’ll be announcing a virtual meet-up next week.

Mr. Benny, who belongs to loyal reader Brooke, is a very good boy. He wants to go to school, because he loves to learn, but the assistant principal says he’s not allowed. Do you think that’s fair? Want your pet to appear here?

3️⃣ An issue of Article Club wouldn’t be an issue of Article Club without at least one great article to read. This week, thanks to the recommendation of loyal reader Rebecca, I am sharing, “The Boy Who Came Back: The Near-Death, And Changed Life, Of My Son Max.” It is by Archie Bland. It was published in The Guardian. It’s 26 minutes long. And it’s poignant and beautifully written. It’s got all the emotions, and it’ll likely make you pause and reflect. It’s quintessential Article Club reading material. I hope you consider reading it.

Here’s a gift link if you need it. And here’s an excerpt:

Sometimes, people tell us to hold on to hope, or to believe in Max. But those invitations miss the point completely. We don’t have to believe in Max, because he’s right in front of us, farting. We can’t invent hope. But we can find a way to live without faking it, to forge something good out of this anger, and this love. In that determination, we can create the fertile soil for hope to take root when it decides to arrive.

It is too soon to say if this feeling is the beginnings of a philosophy, or a fantasy. The three of us are only in the foothills of what I now understand to be our real life. How long until we have to leave our three-floor terraced house? How will our backs cope as Max grows? How will it feel as his disability becomes more visible to others, and as he starts to understand it himself? Will he want to live with us or move out one day? And what happens when we die?

Thank you for reading and listening to this week’s issue. Hope you liked it. 😀

To our 5 new subscribers — Julia, CJ, Ann Marie, Melissa, and Zaretta — I hope you find the newsletter a solid addition to your email inbox. Welcome to Article Club. Make yourself at home. 🏠

If you appreciate the articles, value our discussions, and have come to trust that reading Article Club is better for your mind and soul than your current habit of scrolling the Internet for hours on end (or avoiding reading altogether, hoping the world will vanish), please consider a paid subscription. It’s $5 a month or $36 a year. Big thanks to Cindy for becoming Article Club’s latest paid subscriber.

If subscribing is not your thing, don’t despair: There are other ways you can support this newsletter. Share the newsletter with a friend or buy me a coffee for $3 (so I can read more articles).

On the other hand, if you no longer want to receive this newsletter, please feel free to unsubscribe below. See you next Thursday at 9:10 am PT.