Archival Magic | Chance
[no photo!] ... TinyLetter is shutting down, so the next dispatch will arrive from a new sending address.
I wanted to write this particular newsletter a year ago, and despite my plans, today really feels more correct. I've thought quite a bit about something I heard a few (lol seven) years ago that had a great title and archival sleuthing to match.
"This is Chance," was a music-driven episode of my favorite podcast, 99% Invisible (...which reminded me of two other great episodes about randomness, from Radiolab: stochasticity and coins). And when the book version finally published, I added it to my reading list right away.
Where it stayed for a few years.
Until this month.
The footnotes—an undervalued part of so many books!—display the intensive archival research that supports the riveting narrative. On its surface, the book is about an earthquake and radio broadcaster Genie Chance. But like the source of the tremors, the story resonates much deeper. It's about "the spirit of possibility and togetherness" and how we respond as humans who live in a world with more unforeseeable events than we're comfortable with.
For instance: I started mapping my personal time several years ago. I spend a few weeks in January considering which projects to pursue, finish, or let go. After several years, a clear pattern has emerged: I often fail to start several of the planned projects because an interesting, unexpected opportunity pops in at some point in subsequent months.
I now better understand the luminous guarantee that something unpredictable, maybe something improbable, will happen this year. Every year. To you. To me. It will surely offer an opportunity for us to grow, not harden; "a chance, briefly, to shine."
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This newsletter was written on the traditional lands of the Piscataway and Nacotchtank.
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