Some time after you left Substack for a pause/hiatus, I saw this quote somewhere and copied/pasted it into my notes app. It struck me because I realized I saw you as this kind of writer…

“Hard times are coming, when we’ll be wanting the voices of writers who can see alternatives to how we live now, can see through our fear-stricken society and its obsessive technologies to other ways of being, and even imagine real grounds for hope.

We’ll need writers who can remember freedom - poets, visionaries - realists of a larger reality.”

— Ursula K Le Guin

I still do see you as this kind of writer/person. So, suffice it to say, I was very glad (and grateful) when you resumed your Substack offerings. And I assume I can speak for all of us when I say that.

I look forward to what you bring to Substack in 2026. Happy new year, Matt!