Happy New Year, River People Readers!
This is the time of year when writers and other creative types typically post long, detailed lists about all the wonderful things they created during the previous year. For this writer, the creative harvest was far less plentiful than it has been in the past. I published fewer articles, essays and humor pieces than any year since I started publishing things outside of a personal blog (around 2016).
Despite the marked lack of publishing productivity, I still maintained this little newsletter, and that’s no small feat. Between our home rebuild, my job and the kids, I barely managed to keep up with the monthly newsletter updates and contemplated scrapping the project on several occasions.
But I’m so glad I didn’t.
What started off as a desperate sanity-preserving projected has become a pure joy for me. Throughout my life, I’ve been lucky enough to publish articles in The New York Times and The Washington Post, outlets with vast audiences and an astronomical reach (like this piece, which got some religious people very upset). As thrilling as that type exposure can be, I knew I was merely borrowing an audience. With River People Rebuild, the audience, small as it may be right now, is actually here for me. That’s a different kind of rush. It never ceases to amaze me how exciting it is to get this email:
A huge THANK YOU to everyone here for subscribing, reading, sharing, liking and commenting on my stuff. With all the content you have at your fingertips, I’m beyond grateful that you continue to read what this middle-aged Polish chap puts out there.
River People Rebuild may not have the readership of a major publication, but there’s something infinitely satisfying about building your own readership and creating an audience from the ground up.
My Top 5
Although 2022 was an extremely slow year for me content-wise, I did manage to put out a few things, including
“Updates on Your Dad’s New Year’s Resolutions.” Got to collaborate with two of my favorite writers and humans, Shannon Carpenter and Andrew Knott, early on in the year for a super-fun piece that Shannon came up with and Weekly Humorist wound up publishing.
“What Families Should Do After a Natural Disaster.” A combination personal essay/reported piece I did for Parents where I interviewed a trio of mental health experts about what parents should and shouldn’t do to help their kids in the wake of a natural disaster. I could’ve used some of this advice before our flood.
“Sometimes The Most Sincere Parenting Advice Comes From a Stand-Up Comedian.” A surprisingly serious essay I wrote, also for Parents, about based on an actual conversation I had with Joe Matarese right before my first child was born.
“More Honest, Useful & Specific Netflix Categories.” Teamed up with the inimitable Chip Chantry, who’s like the “A Beautiful Mind” guy, but for comedy, to have some fun with Netflix and its stupid categorization systems.
“SoulJoel’s Comedy Club Finds a New Home.” If you’ve never attended a SoulJoel comedy show, then you absolutely should. I interviewed Joel about his club’s new home, his pandemic adventures and Dave Attell for a story that ran in a few local papers.
And here’s an email I sent to a carpet place that I’m quite proud of:
Jared Bilski <XXXXXXX@gmail.com>
Sun, Jun 5, 2022, 12:03 AM
to HXXXXX
Hi XXXXXXXXXX,
10-4 on the invoice for the remainder of our balance. We will get that out to you as soon as possible. I noticed the bill said the terms of the bill were Net 30. It's been a little while since I took one of those basic accounting classes, but I'm assuming net 30 still means 30 days after (i.e., in victus) the first Sunday of the fiscal year minus seven, right? In that case, our bill is due by August 7th at the latest, correct? Please confirm.
Also, thanks again for accepting the balance of our payment in the form of a Non-Fungible Token (NFT). I was initially surprised when you said that you took this form of payment, but I'm glad to see you're embracing the future and this open arms approach to alternative payment options will no doubt put you world's ahead of your competition. I'm guessing we're far from your only customers who are paying via an NFT (via an Eth token I'm guessing, correct?), but this really helps us out of a bind. See, with inflation being what it is, most of our liquidity is currently tied up in Yen. I know, I know, you and everybody else, mister. But seriously, thanks for being so flexible about your payment options. I'll be sure to give your company a shout on my crypto blog, Big Bitcoin Balls (a play on the mid-20th century colloquialism Big Brass Balls).
Anyway, a couple of quick customer feedback notes:
1. Your product is outstanding and the craftmanship of the installers is legit. The day after the carpet was installed, I did my own product test and stripped down to the Speedo I wore to my high school state swim championship back in 2000 and rolled around on the new carpet like a dog in heat. I learned earlier on that in order to truly get a feel for the quality of the carpet, this was the only way to do it -- and your carpet did not disappoint!
2. A couple of your guys said they would take the old carpet with them when they left, and then, when the job was over, they reversed course and said they weren't able to take it. That placed us in quite the pickle and we had no choice but to dump the old carpet in the your facility's dumpster after hours -- just kidding! I loaded my Forrester with that sopping mess and unloaded it at my MIA's apartment.
3. On the second day, you told us you were going to be there at 10 a.m., but instead your crew showed up at 8 without any warning. This wouldn't have been much of a big deal except for the fact that my wife and I were up until 4 in the morning moving the furniture so your team could lay the carpet the next day. Four hours of sleep is not enough for this Polish empath, and thanks to the sleep deprivation, I make some questionable investment decisions that day.
Thanks again and let me know if you have any questions about the NFT specifics, but I'm guessing you've worked out the kinks with this payment option by now!!
Pura Vida,
Jared the Jackrabbit (my high school swim team's nickname for me) and Liz Bilski
Moment of Zen: Calling the Pa. Liquor Control Board
If you listen closely, you can hear my then-newborn talking in the background:
As always, feel free to leave your in the comments section (or in any post) or email me directly at jrdbilski@gmail. Finally, if you’re enjoying what you read, consider sharing with others using either of buttons below my signature.
Til Next Time,
Jared