I was heartbroken to learn about the death of author Sheldon Lee Compton, which I know is self-serving in its way. I shared my extended thoughts on Sheldon, his writing, our relationship, his long-ago appearance on This Podcast Will Change Your Life, and the importance of that appearance, also self-serving, on Substack, and you can read that here. I hope you'll take a look, though I also want to share the passage I quoted in my riff on Sheldon's fantastic short story collection Where Alligators Sleep at the original This Blog Will Change Your Life, because it seems even more appropriate now:
"In two years I'll be gone. My end and your beginning. When you speak to people, any people, try to be polite. Don't look directly at them. Keep your tone soft and never let them see what you are, where you came from. It most likely won't help, but try anyway. And have a son. Teach him to hold his head high. Teach him to take it like a man. Teach him something, anything.”
All the love Sheldon and Godspeed as you head into the light.