DO SVIDANIYA, MOSCOW MITCH!

Also: RIP Richard Lewis, why volunteering is underrated as self-care, today's book noodge, and can everyone just let Joe Biden enjoy his ice cream?

Hello to all the new subscribers, I’m so grateful you’re here!

I’m late on this because I was out volunteering this morning (put a pin in this) and the news broke about Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell announcing his retirement right before I left.

And a loud chorus of hurrahs then exploded from all of social media all at once.

This day was coming from the moment Yertle McWattle froze on camera during a press conference last summer. And then it happened again a month later. It was all brushed under the carpet pretty fast, because it happened to a Republican and not Joe Biden (who is one year younger than the TurtleMan, just FY-to-the-Izzo).

Anyway, fuck Mitch McConnell. I don’t have to tell you why. Kentucky can decide what they want to do with him, which is hopefully nothing.

Quick RIP to Richard Lewis, who turned Jewish suffering into the highest of comedic art forms. I’m glad he was able to film his part in the final season of Curb Your Enthusiasm. There will be more proper eulogies from those who knew him and were close with him, so I’ll just share one of my earliest memories of Richard on Late Night with David Letterman.

On to a cheerier topic: I’ve just started volunteering at a senior living center to sing with the residents every Wednesday morning. The Songbirds are a small but dedicated group who spend an hour together singing old standards. It’s just such a lovely experience, which I’ll be writing about for Jewish Life Now in the next few weeks. But if you’ve never volunteered, I encourage you to check out opportunities where you live. There are so many different ways to get involved in your local community, and being in service to others is a way to get out of your own head for a while.

You end up getting more out of it than you give, as the saying goes. That’s a saying, right? Anyway, if you need a change in your mood, think about something you enjoy doing and then turn that into action. I’ve never once left a volunteer sitch feeling worse than when I got there. Highly recommended.

And now, the book stuff YAY! February has been the absolute best sales month for The Sound Of Settling, and I still get one extra day to add to those royalties (which won’t pay out until the end of April, but that’ll be a nice slightly belated birthday present for me). As of today, I’ve sold 76 copies just this month, bringing the grand total to 540 copies. Over 4700 pages have been read on Kindle this month, with a total of just over 26,000 pages read there. It was 25,000 on Tuesday, just saying.

My friend Thad wrote me a killer review, btw.

Your help in getting the word out about my beloved book would be very much appreciated (especially if you know an agent or Hollywood producer) because I would really love to be able to afford to move out of dirty downtown Portland and to something a little quieter in NE/SE. I’m still applying for jobs—I got an obviously AI-generated rejection from Gannett to be a freelancer for them, yaaay—so that’s weighing on my mind as I barrel towards the April 4th deadline to give my building notice or renew.

Let’s not disappoint Jeff, everyone. Jeff is a really good guy.

Also, Lisa rocks a lot.

”Hard to put down”! That’s what she said.

Now let’s end with a photo of our legitimately elected and incredibly spry President Joe Biden eating ice cream, because Jesse Watters is a stalking piece of shit smarmstain who can shove a waffle cone up his ass sideways. Twice.

😎