The Peripatetic Historian
Rebranding and a fond reflection on the Cathedral of Notre Dame. May 2024, Vol. 3, no. 12.
Welcome to the May issue of the Peripatetic Historian.
In this Issue:
Peripatetic Field Report: Rebranding!
Book News
Then and Now
The Answer to Last Month’s Puzzler
Let’s get started…
Peripatetic Field Report: Rebranding
With this installment, What’s New in Old News? completes its third year of publication. I am a little surprised to be on the threshold of year four—I never expected the newsletter would still be running (and growing) three years after its debut.
May marks another anniversary: two years ago I resigned from my teaching post, cast off the dock lines, and set sail for the adventures waiting over a distant horizon. It’s the beginning of my third year as the world’s only Peripatetic Historian.
It’s a lonely vocation, but someone must do it.
Anniversaries, although artificial constructs, offer opportunities for reflection, assessment, and innovation. What, for example, is the raison d'être of What’s New in Old News? Is it a travel blog? An expatriate’s journal? A history publication? A collection of handy links to books and articles?
And what, exactly, is the “old news” that’s “new?”
At the very least, this monthly screed seems poorly named. A sentimental glance over this year’s issues suggests that a title change and a freshly-polished mission statement is in line.
Therefore, on the first day of May, in the year of our Lord 2024, I do hereby declare, ratify, and reiterate a new name (“The Peripatetic Historian”) for the newsletter formerly entitled What’s New in Old News?
Despite the name change, you can expect no substantive changes to The Peripatetic Historian. Same Pepsi, different bottle.
Whither What’s New in Old News?
Of course the rebranding leaves a title floating free in the universe, searching for a newsletter to head. I also have a plan for that.
In the course of my daily research, ferreting through stacks of dusty newspapers, moth-gnawed magazines, and wormy books, I frequently stumble across articles that bring a smile to my face. Quirky news. Fun news. Items that never achieved immortality in a journal article or textbook.
I’ve decided to pull together a collection of these oddities in a weekly digest entitled What’s New in Old News? If you enjoy strange stories and historical histrionics, you will want to sign up for this new offering. Subscribers will receive, every Thursday, a short (3-4 minute read) bulletin from the past.
The first installments began dropping in April. So far we have:
A Pox on the Auto: One man’s campaign to save society from immoral cars
You Can’t Make a Living Writing: A Danish poet is deported when US Immigration officials question his vocation.
It’s Not the Ozone that Kills You: Wolfram Fuchs has fun with X-rays until he learns that X-rays aren’t fun.
Intrigued? You can subscribe to What’s New in Old News? with this handy portal:
Rebranding… It sounds like something cattle rustlers do under the cover of night.
Book News
Shipping Slipping
Sad news landed in my email this past month: a printer’s delay has compromised the tightly-orchestrated publication date for L.A. Birdmen. Now, rather than a June 18 release, the book won’t be available in the United States until July 2, 2024. No word yet on whether this will also affect the UK release.
Despite the setback, the pre-order window remains open. Make sure you reserve your copy for its ultimate release:
The Birdmen Tour
For those of you living in the Pacific Northwest, I will be offering my new lecture— Lighter-than-Air: West Coast Pilots and the Dawn of Flight—at select venues. The tour schedule can be found here:
Then and Now
The Lady Returns
On April 15, 2019, fire broke out in the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris, one of France’s—and arguably the world’s—great treasures. It was a devastating blow for lovers of France, churches, and Gothic architecture. Since I can tick off all three of those boxes, I felt particularly bereaved when the disaster struck. I could smell tragedy’s smoke a half-world away, in Spokane, WA.
It seemed impossible, an accident that went against divine order itself. The Cathedral was changeless and timeless, as these two images, separated by nearly 120 years, seemed to confirm.
And yet, accident and calamity bring down the best of us; the grey lady was knocked reeling.
But not for long. Notre Damel has risen from the ashes and, deo volente, will reopen on December 8, 2024.
I call that a fine Christmas present.
And the Winner is…Taiwan
Last month I suggested that I would be able to offer an update about my next destination in the May issue of the newsletter. As the subtitle suggests, a decision has been made. Mary was offered two TESL jobs—one in Morocco and the other in Taiwan. We spent a full week inking pros and cons onto a whiteboard, trying to decide between two attractive opportunities. Ultimately the novelty of Taiwan proved the deciding factor. We’ve spent two wonderful years in the Middle East, learned a great deal about Arabic culture, and have become very comfortable living in an Islamic context. While Morocco offered unique challenges, the chance to experience a fresh culture proved the final thin straw that tipped the scale toward Asia.
We will be touching down in Taipei in August. A short visit to the United States will interrupt our departure from Jordan and our Asian arrival. As always, I’ll keep you apprised of the peripatetications in the next installment of the newsletter.
Until then, be safe, be sensible,
