Speaking with Another Substack author
Walter Rhein spends some good writing time on another writer
I’ve recently been reading a lot of Notes from Walter Rhein, of the Substack publication “I’d Rather Be Writing.” He uses Notes like Twitter of Old: short pieces of thought-provoking wit and wisdom, questioning authority.
Once I followed Walter, I found out that he offers an occasional live Zoom call. I sat in on the next one scheduled and was able to ask my question right away, which sparked a longer conversation. I said I was interested in building small communities, online and in-person, and wondered whether Substack was a platform where that could work.
Walter mentioned our conversation in a post this week, How to Use Platforms to Build Communities in Search of Greater Truth.
I didn’t know we’d gotten that deep, but he hits the mark with the ultimate goal.
I believe we will find greater truth by sharing more of ourselves, face-to-face, unmediated by the media (corporate or social), and maybe over a cup of coffee and a fresh-baked goodie of some sort.
I feel that one way to survive the next four years is to go very local - starting in our own kitchens. Make things you like to eat and drink, and replace the high-priced stuff available at stores, fast-food franchises and sit-down restaurants.
By making things we like (and getting good at it) we can fight greedflation. Greedflation is what we got when the supply chain got messed up during Covid, prices rose - causing that cursed inflation - and companies kept their prices high, even when the supply chain was unkinked and costs dropped. You and I paid more than we should have, contributing to record corporate profits.
That’s what I call greedflation.
I often mention bagels in my Substack pieces, because they can be somewhat of a splurge in a coffee shop or bakery. I’d guess most bagels above grocery store quality would be around $2 each. It costs me approximately $2 … for a batch of 8!
That’s fighting greedflation.
Then I find chances to share the stuff I make with neighbors. They watch the cats for a weekend, they get at least a half-dozen bagels. And they love that.
I provide a way to find the original recipe in a previous post. My thought about surviving the next four years is for each of us to find things we can make and then share with others.
When can we get to the point where it doesn’t matter who any of us voted for? There are some who regret their votes, and others who regret not voting, I’m sure.
But we’re all in the same boat. For the next four years, can we work with each other to make sure it keeps sailing - with nobody tossed overboard?