Happy First Anniversary to Flower Child!

Thanks for coming along for the ride! Help me spread the word?

A year ago, Rafael and I embarked on our EV journey from Oakland to Albuquerque and back. The same day, I embarked on my weekly writing journey with this Substack newsletter.

Thank you so much to all of you who have subscribed — and especially to everyone who has read and commented on my posts! Writing is a solitary activity, but you are always on my mind; after all, writing is a form of communication, and without you, this communication would be meaningless.

The best birthday present you can give me

This week marks another anniversary; yesterday was my birthday. As I embark on being 62, I’m grateful that I can spend time writing this newsletter, and that you’re reading it.

What do I want for my birthday? Glad you asked!

🌺 The best thing you can give me for my birthday: Read my newsletter!

Unless you can give me world peace, love, and understanding — but I don’t expect that any of you are all-powerful beings, though we are all powerful (see what a difference a hyphen makes?). You’re already reading this, so yay! Thank you.

🌼 Another best thing you can give me: Like and comment on my posts!

It makes me really happy to know you’re reading this, and what better way to know that than to hear from you? Plus, the more engagement my newsletter gets, the more people find it and read it. So, if you’re at all inclined, click the heart at the top or bottom of my posts if you like them. And please comment when you feel moved to, whether you like my posts or not.

🌸 Yet another best thing you can give me: Share my posts!

You can use the Share button at the top or bottom of a post — or you can copy the post link into social media, or text or email it to people. We have so many ways to communicate these days!

There, I’ve used up my three wishes. After all, we must adhere to the Rule of Three.

What a year it’s been!

If you’re new to Flower Child, thanks for coming by! Be sure to check out my post explaining the name of my newsletter, which is also the name I’ve given to my unnamed generation. Well, apparently someone did give it a name a couple decades before I came up with mine, but I hadn’t heard of it, which shows how well it took. And I like mine better. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, you’ll have to read that post.

My most popular posts

This category is misleading; as my audience has grown, some of my most recent posts have become more popular, because math.

Right now, the top posts are:

• The Land of the Free?

• Life and Death in Albuquerque

• Overall, ChatGPT Will Not Replace Me

• The Blood of Cows

• I Don’t Want a Personal Brand

Some of my favorite earlier posts

Going back to posts that have slipped from the “most popular” list, here are some of my favorites — besides the one about my generation, that is:

• Living in These Times

• In Praise of the Semicolon

• It’s a Wonderful Hero’s Journey

• What They Didn’t Tell Us About Medieval Women

• No, Age Is Not Just a Number

• We’ll Always Have Paris

But don’t take my word for it — check out the Flower Child archive if you’ve missed previous posts.

But wait, what’s the theme of this newsletter?

Heh! My theme is kind of that there isn’t a theme.

I know, I should be writing for some niche. But that’s not how my brain works, and it’s not what satisfies my soul. I’m writing this newsletter for enjoyment and fulfillment, and because I hope to leave people with something of value. The only way I know to do that is to write about whatever I find meaningful and engaging, and that spans various topics.

If I have a theme other than not having a theme, it’s providing my Flower Child perspective on the world, with a focus on healing the Earth and all its inhabitants. Go ahead, call me a hippie; you wouldn’t be the first to do that.

Thanks again!

Thanks again for reading, and for sticking with me through post #53!

If you want to get me something for my birthday — you know what to do!