I seem to vacillate back and forth with this question from time to time. But ultimately when we cut right to the heart of the issue, it’s pretty simple:
I’m here to make friends.
Online, absolutely. In person, even better. In fact, I’ve already gotten a taste of how that can work out.
At some point in the next decade or so I’m going to retire from my weather job and Kelly and I are going to hit the road. When that day comes, my benchmark for this publication being a “wild success” isn’t a massive subscriber count or a little checkmark next to my name.
It looks more like this: I drop a note that says, “Hey, we’re passing through [Cool Place, USA] or [Even Cooler Place Overseas] next week,” and someone from this community chimes in to say, “Take this backroad, skip the tourist trap, and meet us at the trailhead—we’ll show you the best overlook in the county.”
Then I say: Thanks !
Naturally, that door swings both ways. If you ever find yourself out in our spectacular little corner of Southeast Arizona, consider the offer open. I can point you toward the ridge lines with the best early morning light, show you which trees the trogons like to hide in every spring, or take you down to play tourist for an evening in Tombstone.
Beyond the travel dreams, I take pictures and I tell stories. Doing either in a vacuum gets lonely fast. We humans all have a little bit of ego. Sure, having thousands of readers would be neat only because it means more people getting a brief, quiet break from the scroll when they see an image or story I’ve shared.
Then again, if this circle stays small and tight-knit forever, that’s just fine by me. As I often say: if you don’t see me around here for a stretch, it doesn’t mean I abandoned ship. It just means real life is going exceptionally well… or that I’m finally tackling the mountain of laundry I ignored while chasing good light.
All of that to say: I like sharing what I see through the lens, writing about the ride so far, and getting to know the people who stop long enough to read along.
If you're new here, introduce yourself in the comments. And if you've been here a while: what brought you to Substack in the first place?
Til Next time,
I'm glad you're here! Can't wait to see you both travel and hopefully meet in person someday.
And I'm here for it all!! 😝
Hey Todd!! Glad you are here and I can't wait for your retirement where you'll be traveling. As a retiree, I have to tell you that it is grand! :) If you find yourself wandering up into Michigan, I'd be happy to share some places to visit. If you end up near Ann Arbor, happy to share a beverage as well :)
My wife (Brenda) and I are here on Substack for similar reasons as you I think. We wanted to start a newsletter and never intend to monetize it, but are so very grateful to those who feel that what we do is worth not only their time, but cold hard cash. What we've found here is wonderful people sharing their creativity with others. A few of them we are happy to call our friends :)