It's Time for Another One...
I don’t know about you, but 2024 is the fastest year I’ve ever experienced. I’m sure part of that was due to the freedom of being retired for 11 months. Well, sort of retired…
I retired from my job at the public library in February, then got on the substitute teacher list at a local classical Christian school. I wasn’t sure this was such a good idea, but I loved it. In many schools subs are called to either babysit or watch kids complete worksheets, but I was fortunate to be given the opportunity to teach students portions of The Iliad, The Odyssey, Paradise Lost, Murder in the Cathedral, A Tale of Two Cities, The Great Gatsby, and more.
My subbing experience also caused me to read more classics than I normally would have, and I plan to continue that. I also read more books than usual this year, 125 to be exact, which also meant I saw fewer films (only 186).
Yet I spent a lot of time with certain movies, introducing several in-person and virtually, including Sunset Boulevard, The Third Man, Detour, and The Bad and the Beautiful.
I was delighted to have two articles published this year, one reprinted in the 2023 Noir City Annual and another on the last day of 2024 in the Noir City Magazine #42 on the women in Act of Violence. (You can receive the magazine digitally or in print.)
I also had a great time in 2024 starting this Substack newsletter. Since February 2024, I’ve published 115 articles and met some great people. I’ll probably never get huge numbers, but that’s not what it’s about. If you enjoy my writing, I’m happy, so thank you to my free and paid subscribers. I hope you’ll continue on these journeys with me.
What does 2025 look like? I’m working on a book proposal (a book about movies), so I’ll keep you posted on how that’s going.
I’m also coming out of retirement, excited to work as a reference librarian at Anne Arundel Community College starting soon.
But let’s focus on you. Tell me something you did in 2024 that you’re proud of. And please share what you’re planning for 2025. The comments are open. I hope everyone has a Happy New Year. Thanks for reading.