It would be LARGE PRINT and it would work by me being able to read it without a magnifying glass.

I finished Small Mercies by Dennis Lehane, which was an enjoyable read. He’s a great writer and a great plotter. This book is very much in the vein of what he does, but he changed the perspective around and it works. It isn’t his best book, but it’s refreshing.

I started The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera. I’ve never read anything by him before but I’ve always heard about this book. Finally picked it up, and it’s very early going, but I love what I’ve read so far. I’m going to end up having more to say about this book.

I’m listening to The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova. I read it in hardcover sometime not that long after it came out, but it’s fun revisiting it. I remember the writing differently than it sounds.

I’m about two thirds of the way through Since We Fell by Dennis Lehane. And I finished The Stupidest Angel by Christopher Moore today.

I don’t think Lehane ever really misses. His plots aren’t usually all that dense but the characters are deep and compelling. And the writing is way better than it seems like it should be. Every once in a while you I read a line and think, “Where did that come from, and how did it get here?” He’s a really talented writer.

Moore is not that. But he’s fun and entertaining. This book was not his best effort. But it was fine. If you like Moore, you’ll like this one we’ll enough.

The point is your gained wisdom through experience. That’s what the old people always tried to tell us.

Are you going to solve any of those problems? No. Are you going to be able to join some organization or movement that solves them? Probably no. Will you be able to affect any change that the world will take notice of? Probably not.

But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be a part of it. Not everything that has value makes meaningful changes on the world. There was a French artist, Marcel Duchamps, who once exhibited a urinal. This was clearly not an attempt to move art in any direction, or change public perception, he was kinda just being an asshole. But it had that effect anyway. People still get pissy about it, in the form of, “Is it art?” conversations. Is it? Doesn’t matter. It was a low effort one-off idea that has lasted for decades.

Life isn’t actually a race to see how much you can achieve. And if it was that, then it wouldn’t be measured by money. It wouldn’t be measured by “legacy,” the way we use that word for rich people and sports stars. If it really was a contest, then it would be based on how much good you can manage in the face of constant depressive onslaught.

The world has never seemed like it has a point to most people. But they try their best, and they make meaningful impact on the lives of others, often without intention or even knowledge of having done so .

One of my most influential people has no idea that he did anything. He’s around somewhere, although I haven’t seen him for 20 years. All he did was treat me like a person when I was a dumb teenager (not to say all teenagers are dumb, but I was). It really wasn’t much. But I hadn’t been treated that way before, so to me it’s influential because it was something he did that he didn’t have to do.

That guy is not going to be lying on his deathbed thinking, “At least I was a good influence on scared of planes.” For all I know, he doesn’t remember me. Doesn’t matter. He spread some good into the world. That’s your job. That’s your point.

Just be a better you tomorrow than you are today, as many days as you can manage. Know that no one does that every day. And you’ll live a meaningful life that maybe has influence. Your legacy is you.

Or get revanced and install their version so you can browse ad-free because the old content there is invaluable. BTW, if you do that, use the old account you got locked out of. It’s unlocked now. Don’t go giving them the benefit of a new sign up.