5 Quick Things #427 🍂

pay attention, word origins, be a better human, & Drink is back!

Sep 25, 2026

Happy first day of Autumn to all who celebrate! I absolutely, positively celebrate, but that’s about all I do, because it won’t feel like fall for at least another month around these parts. I’m quite used to it, so I don’t let it get me down... It’s all about the mindset, fellow southerners. We can’t wear scarves or hats yet (or, let’s be honest, even pants and long sleeves), so embrace all the fallness in your outlook on life, your drinks of choice, your scents around the house, your front porch regalia (which I won’t festoon with a gourd until at least October 1, but you get the gist). I’m wearing a tank top, shorts, and flip-flops as I write this, and the A/C is pumping out cold air at full-tilt. ...We’ll get there though. Solidarity. And we’ll enjoy our delightfully mild winters that involve zero snow shoveling come February.

*Studium jesienne* (1911), by Jan Kanty Gumowski #

5 Quick Things ☕️

1. FINALLY: A new episode of A Drink With a Friend! I’m dusting off the podcast for another fall season of delightful conversations about both books and places that have shaped us. For this inaugural one, it’s just me talking to you—and I’m trying something new with the Substack live video feature. (Tech-wise, it turns out it’s easy-peasy, but their video quality is super not great. Better video quality to come, I promise.) However, I will never quit audio, as the good Lord intended podcasts to be, so also find the new episode wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts. (Subscribe to the show, too!)
2. …Yes, I’m still thinking about the passing of Wendell Berry, thank you kindly. I loved every word of this tribute from Liz Prather, a former student of his from the University of Kentucky—just imagine having him as a professor. I would lead with that factoid at every networking event I’d be forced to attend. What a man: “At that point in the semester, I cared less about getting a good grade and more about simply being a better human being. He wasn’t really teaching us composition as much as he was teaching us how to pay attention, think independently, live honestly, and take responsibility for our words and our lives.”
3. I’m thrilled to report that for the first time in my life, I have a set of wall-to-wall bookshelves in a dedicated writing library that I’m psyched to show you soon (though you can see a glimpse of them in the pixel-y video of the new Drink episode, above). …And yes, it required marrying off my daughter in order to free up space to do so. They’re comprised of beautiful bookshelves Kyle built for me about 12 years ago, but are now sitting together on one wall, attached, and painted a lovely green. Once the ceiling is done being planked, they’ll be capped with crown moulding, and they’ll be a sight to see. Now I just need my Belle ladder-on-wheels. Pics to come!
4. Because we are not machines, we are not meant to place efficiency upon the altar where we worship the culture’s almighty god of Getting Stuff Done So That You Feel Like Your Life Has Meaning. I appreciated Spencer Klavan’s thoughts about not only the slowness of reading, but why what we pay attention to matters, and why we must dedicate precious time to paying attention to it: “It pays to ask who or what deserves the precious gift of your attention. ...Philosophy, art, literature, even mathematics at its noblest: these things reward our investment in them because they put us in touch with other souls, and with beauty. They’re worth doing even when you don’t have to do anything.”
5. And finally, a linguist answers word origin questions (I love nerdy stuff like word etymology—watch if you wonder why Americans say ‘fall’ while the rest of the world exclusively uses ‘autumn’).

Currently Reading, Watching, Listening 📖

The Black Wolf, by Louise Penny (I’m finally, slowly, catching up to this beloved series)

Quotable 💬

“Our culture has filled our heads but emptied our hearts, stuffed our wallets but starved our wonder. It has fed our thirst for facts but not for meaning or mystery.”

- Peter Kreeft

What’s your most favorite area in your life to clean and organize? 🧺

Flipping the script on last week’s poll question… I think I’d have to answer the kitchen, mostly because there’s such an instant gratification there. Countertops sticky? Wipe ‘em down—done. Put the food left out in containers and toss ‘em in the fridge—done. Coffee area all disheveled (🙋‍♀️)? Take ten minutes while it brews in the morning, and you’ve got yourself a tidied-up daily space. We’re in our kitchens multiple times a day, and I, for one, always feel better once it’s cleaned and tidied. Seems like nearly half of you agree with me.

Closet/Garage: 6.2%
Bathroom: 5.6%
Car: 7.4%
Kitchen: 49%
Bedroom: 31.8%