5 Quick Things #248 š
local newspapers, Jesus jobs, the long-legged house, & I'm gone fishin'
Hello!
Iām writing to you from my neighborhood coffee shop, essential boundary-making for me as I wrap up any final work to-dos before todayās start of my internet break. When I get home Iāll toss in a load of laundry, make next weekās list of reminders for the kiddos of what to do while Iām gone, and spend a good chunk of my afternoon packing as lightly as possible (this is my philosophy). Tomorrow I leave for Italy! And after a week, I return for one day (hopefully to do another load of laundry), and then return back to the airport with my family for ten days in Costa Rica. Yes, I am sure Iāll experience metaphorical whiplash. But Iām psyched to live out of a backpack for an extended time again, one of my favorite things to do.
As I mentioned already, I may or may not post photos while traveling āĀ weāll see. If I do, it may be on Instagram (I have many, many feelings about the platform and Iām fairly certain my days on there are numbered), but Iāll almost certainly post at least a few photos here*.
This edition of 5QT is unofficially my āGone Fishināā post for the next four weeks of The Commonplace⦠Feel free to enjoy the archives, but I definitely recommend spending more time offline if you can! Iāll be here again with you soon.

5 Quick Things āļø
1.Ā Iām super grateful for the kind feedback many of you shared regarding why I think you should take an internet break, too. If you want to nerd out more on this topic, you might appreciate this, this, this, this, and this.
2.Ā If you adore Wendell Berry as much as me (and I know many of you do), youāll enjoy this lengthy interview. Pour a cup of something and settle in for this one.
3. To pair with my recent thoughts on embodiment and really living where you live, I appreciated John Pattinsonās reasons why he started reading his local paper this year. You could also add in this perspective of remembering the spheres (āThese are political tomatoes. This is political tomato sauceā), as well as this indie series on American suburbia āĀ though youāll want to chase that last one with something hopeful, like this.
4.Ā āDumbledore once said that the people who are best suited to power are the ones who have never sought it, and I kind of think Jesus Jobs are the same way.ā Yes, yes, yes. Claire says the quiet part out loud, and Iām here for it.
5.Ā And finally, a few of you have emailed me asking to elaborate more on the traditional transcendentals āĀ the true, good, and beautiful āĀ and whatās meant by them. A great question, and itās something I hope to unpack more in the second half of the year. In the meantime, you might appreciate Fr. Mikeās distilled explanation, and why theyāre the essentials for human flourishing.
Currently Reading, Watching, Listening š
Uprooted, by Grace Olmstead
Quotable š¬
āMen are free when they are obeying some deep, inward voice of religious belief. Obeying from within. Men are free when they belong to a living, organic, believing community, active in fulfilling some unfulfilled, perhaps unrealized purpose. Not when they are escaping to some wild west. The most unfree souls go west, and shout of freedom.ā
ā D.H. LawrenceĀ #
What do you consider yourself? š¤
I thought this was a more interesting way to query the general age demographics of the readership here than simply asking for your age. Iām not very surprised by these results, but the diversity of ages still makes me smile! (ā¦And if youāre curious, Iād put myself if the largest demographic represented.)
Find this weekās poll here.
Quick Links š
Question(s) For You to Ponder⦠š¤
On the first day of fall this year (September 22 for those of us in the northern hemisphere), what do you hope to say you accomplished during this summer? What can you do today to make that more likely?
Have a good month! Iāll be back here soon,
Tsh
p.s. Iām woefully terrible at correspondence with readers. Truly. This is why I appreciate this analog responder more than I wish I did.
*Iām very, very new to micro.blog but Iām enjoying the space so farāit rather feels like it was made for well-intentioned curmudgeons like me.
Hi Tsh! I'm very intrigued by this new micro.blog platform that you've started using. Would you mind telling me what theme you're using on your page? Hope you have the best time in Italy and away from the internet! Looking forward to hearing from you again once you return :)
love the way you did the age demographic question - nice!