The name of this post is a bit problematic, as it seems to imply that there are certain subscribers we love and others we do not. Let it be known that we love all subscribers, and we love them all exactly the same, just as the parents of five children love them all the same, even if one of them is wretched and ill-mannered and sometimes kicks dogs for no reason.
But among all of you subscribers, there are two who we love especially much right now.
First up, there is Holly, who not only loved her Six Degrees of Francis Bacon poster enough to frame it, but loved us enough to send us a picture of it hanging on her wall.
Thank you, Holly, for validating us. It almost looks like real-live art.
And then there is Eve, longtime subscriber who recently renewed her subscription using PayPal, and in so doing seemingly made a grave error, purchasing three subscriptions instead of the customary one. I wrote to Eve, offering to refund the two accidentally purchased subscriptions, but she wrote back insisting that her order had been quite intentional. Apparently, she was just making sure that her subscription wasn’t going to expire again any time soon. Indeed, we are now compelled by the almighty power of financial obligation to produce 18 more books. Providing the world does not end before then, Eve’s subscription will not expire until Volume 44, which will be not released until the end of 2013. Talk about performance anxiety. We had originally intended to wrap this series up at Volume 10.
I don’t know whether to consider Eve’s order as a vote of confidence, a deliberate test of our artistic fortitude, or a canny ploy to cash in on the going subscription rate before we raise it in the years to come. If you are motivated by the final argument, we hereby invite you all to subscribe (or resubscribe, as the case may be) for as many years as you care to at the going rate of $60 a year (kind of like an Idiots’Books version of the Forever stamp).
Thank you Holly and Eve, for making us feel great. As for the rest of you subscribers, we love you, too.
Hey guys! I don’t have my six degrees poster yet…Can’t wait….Hope you are well…Beth and Terry
Beth:
You are a subscriber we love…but not enough to bring your darn poster by. Because you are on our “walking delivery” list, you are in the unfortunate position of not getting your poster when we don’t feel like walking. So sorry for the delay. We’ve been having one of “those weeks.” Actually, I think we’ve been having three. We will bring your poster by very soon. And we will present it with every bit as much love as every other subscriber gets. Or maybe somewhat more.
Thanks for your patience.
Matthew
Holly beat me to it! My poster is framed and in my hallway, I just need the picture wire to hang it…
It’s great!
Lucy:
Glad you like the poster, but “I need picture wire” sounds a bit too much like “the dog ate my homework” for my taste. Consider yourself on subscriber probation until further notice. I’m sure Holly is shaking her head in disgust.
Matthew
Lucy – Do not listen to Matthew. We still have a beautiful piece of art sitting on the floor behind Alden’s crib, right below the place where it is supposed to hang because we need a nail. Not a special nail. Not a nail that is any different from the approximate 17,000 nails that Dad has neatly sorted on shelves downstairs in mom’s studio. Not a nail with magical hanging powers. Not a gold-plated nail. Not a nail that will bring peace and love to the world. Nope. Not that kind of nail. Wire, on the other hand… wire you actually have to GO somewhere to get. I’ll give you 5 years before I put you on subscriber probation. And by then, SURELY you will have found something better to hang on your wall.
Lucy:
Robbi’s bleeding heart attitudes are of no use to you as I am the one who declares when subscriber probation starts and ends and on what terms.
Until further notice, you are not to go outdoors. Or use verbs. Or enjoy the company of cats. Oh yes, life can be unpleasant for those who can’t be bothered to hang up their art.
In my case, for example, the punishment for failing to hang the art that Robbi mentioned is having to hang out with Robbi.
May you suffer as I have.
Matthew