Jesse Morton passed away on Dec. 21st. I had the pleasure of meeting him in person when he came over for my podcast just a little over a month ago. It was a day that was crammed but we made it work and I'm so glad that we made it happen despite the short window of time we both had. If only I'd known how short that window would be, I would have kept talking the rest of the afternoon.
When we met, it felt like we'd known each other forever. We were kindred, tortured spirits--bonded instantly by that kind of recognition that addicts in recovery have for one another and our demons--the knowledge of the emotional tight wire that we walk and how precarious it can be.
I was so looking forward to working with him on his mission to help bring the temperature down on the culture wars a notch. I'm totally wrecked by his death (we don't know what happened) and in many ways it's made me feel a loss of hope for the future. He was the kind of person who was working so hard to deradicalize us all. And now it feels like the return to the Dark Ages is inevitable. I'm not sure anyone can continue his work. His life made him uniquely suited to do what he did.
Despite his struggles, he remained strangely devoid of the kind of cynicism that is pervasive. I'll do my best to stay to the light in his honor--but today is hard and the sudden loss of a person like Jesse triggers my nihilism. What's it all for?
We stayed friends after that day, constantly checking in on each other. He was so excited for our baby. I'm sad he won't get to meet her and help build the world she is entering. I'll do my best to carry his torch.
If you haven't listened to our talk, I encourage you to do so. I can't yet. But I will.
The time has come, Pham!! It’s officially the end of our Locals era. This means that starting now, all of our content will be centralized over at Substack and not Locals.
As you can probably see, my life is getting increasingly more bonkers, in the best possible way--but that means dividing my time between two subscriber platforms is no longer sustainable. Consolidating all of the Pham in one place will make it possible to give you more of the focused attention you deserve.
Don’t panic.
Locals is where it all began so the move is bittersweet. I have made lifelong friends here. We’ve done writing prompts together. Worked ...
Hello new followers, I hope I don’t disappoint you. I want this place to feel like home, where we can escape the Thunderdome and process the world. Where we can post dog pics and recipes and book recommendations. Where we support each other as we get sober, lose weight, embark on new business opportunities, creative endeavors, relationships and travels. I want this to be your oasis of sanity and laughter in an increasingly mad world. A creative outlet where you can share your spirit with us.
We might not have any control over the news cycle—but we can control our habits and attitude. It all starts with us. And hopefully a little piece of that will start here.
Pham, I know it’s late for some of us, but I haven’t had a song in my brain in a bit. So, here’s one of my favorite poems instead.
Poem of the Evening💙
“Come live with me and be my love.”
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44675/the-passionate-shepherd-to-his-love
(Sorry for the delay on this prompt—life happened.)
The writing prompts are back! And since everyone is talking about "what is a woman?" I thought we should dig into our Factory Settings and find out what we learned about this stuff.
