• Years seem like minutes •
[1 MIN READ]
A recent run became the opportunity for some roasting of your Ruminations contributor. It wasn’t the subject matter or the writing style that drew derision but rather a much more petty element of the writing: reading times. The practice began as a courtesy to the audience, taking a page from the New York Times playbook. But for pieces as brief as Ruminations, perhaps they came across as overkill. That was BB Betsy’s vocal criticism: “Anyone who times their writing has too much time on their hands.” And there was the matter of precision. Quietman Tom: “I’ll give you 3 guesses what was wrong with your last Rumination.” CtCloser: “You got me.” Quietman Tom: “It wasn’t 1½ minutes. It was 1:47.” I? I have too much time on my hands?
I will have to bite the bullet either way; use times and ignore the criticisms like any good writer or yield to the critics and fold like a cheap suit. I’ve forsaken them for some recent particularly short pieces [except in Ruminations on my personal website iCandybyWangC vs. Shawmont Running Club Newsletter], but time will tell how long their absence will continue or how good I will be at laughing good naturedly when they do.
BTW, Happy 2024! It seems like the start of 2023 was a mere minute ago.
-CtCloser (Calvinthe) “Negative Split or Positive Splat” #dothedue
FINE PRINT ¶Text by Calvin Wang (Wäng), CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. ¶Cross-published: Facebook Shawmont Running Club (ZY Weekly Newsletter 12/30/23), Shawmont Running Club website, Ruminations by CtCloser ¶Based on true events. Likenesses used with permission.
iCandybyWangC 
This made me laugh, because I could just hear the conversation you had with Tom! I read your ruminations regardless of how long they take.