🌠 Why I’ll Never Compete in a Masters Tournament ⛳
or, Everything I know about golf I learned from Rory Gilmore 📺☕
Paper Crane Feelings #11
Dear Friend,
I didn’t think I would ever write the following words, let alone discuss this in a newsletter, but… I watched golf all weekend.
I know nothing about golf, but my partner Josh was watching the 2025 Masters Tournament, and I kept catching little bits and pieces. Before you know it, I’m rooting for guys I’ve never heard of, covering my eyes yelling “OH NOOOO” whenever a carefully tapped putt slowly rolled within millimeters of the hole… and then… right past it. Devastating.
I honestly did not enjoy it at all. It was a train wreck that I couldn’t look away from. I told Josh that I didn’t understand why he liked playing golf before… and now I really don’t understand it.
What kept me watching, though, is my habit of becoming intensely invested in anyone that I learn even the smallest bit of information about. I instantly fall in love with almost everyone and immediately want the best for them. If it sounds exhausting, it is. But that’s why, if we’ve ever been introduced, I will basically be your cheerleader for life.
So I made the mistake of reading Rory McIlroy’s Wikipedia entry and next thing you know I’m hounding Josh with discussions of Gerry and Rosie, McIlroy’s parents, working non-stop to pay for Rory to keep golfing or how, as a child, Rory went to sleep holding a club to develop muscle memory.
And, of course, I annoyed him with Rory Gilmore/Gilmore Girls-related quotes every time McIlroy hit the green, which have nothing to do with golf, unless you count the times Richard took Rory, Luke, or Digger to the country club (because apparently I can’t engage with the real world unless I filter it through a pop culture obsession).
I’m a weirdo. I know.
I also have a fascination with anyone who is a professional at a sport. I’m pretty much a little bit interested in almost everything — except for the competitiveness involved in most sports, go figure. That’s the main reason watching was so unenjoyable — the competitive aspects of this tournament were torture for me. But, again, I’m deeply interested in people who pick a thing and then do the thing until they become one of the best people in the world at the thing. I think it’s because I could never. Focusing on one thing is just not who I am.
Jack of all trades, master of none. For most of my life, I saw these as negative characteristics that I should work to fix — my lack of interest in competitiveness and my lack of desire to focus on anything enough to be great at it — but at some point I decided that these are just parts of me, parts I finally decided to like.
So please be kind to your seemingly flaky friends who can’t focus or pick a thing. Don’t give them too hard of a time.
We jacks-of-all-trades need love, too.
Rory McIlroy won the whole damn thing, by the way. And, yes, I teared up a little.
Current Projects
Snail Mail Club.
SUBSCRIPTION PRICE UPDATE. I’m planning to raise the minimum monthly cost of the Snail Mail Club subscriptions from $2 to $3 at the beginning of May. This should not affect current members signed up at the $2 level.
This will hopefully still be a super reasonable cost for new members, but if you are someone who’s thought about joining and would like to try Snail Mail Club at the lower price, please sign up before May 1. And, of course, I have infinite gratitude for the members who pay above the minimum. Thank you!!
SPRING. Spring cards are coming along. I’m working on them every day. I think they are going to be really cute and (hopefully) enjoyable regardless of whether you’ve watched The Wicker Man. (The 1973 film is currently streaming free with ads on PlutoTV and Plex according to the Reelgood app, and Kanopy if you have access through your library.) I’m dying to share some sketches, but I think it would be too much of a spoiler. But I did use one of my rough sketches for the playlist below!
🤔 I’m also trying to come up with ideas for the Summer card! 🤔
WHAT IS SNAIL MAIL CLUB? SMC members receive unique handmade cards four times per year that are inspired by the seasons. Additional items are included in every release such as stickers, bookmarks, and other surprises. If you aren’t already a member, you can sign up through Ko-fi HERE! Thank you, SMC members!
Website.
SPRING 2025. I created the page to collect all the information and images for Spring. (The only thing here right now is the playlist.)
SPRING 2025 - PLAYLIST. The playlist is finally done! I had a lot of fun with the song selection. Some of the choices are on the silly side and all over the musical spectrum. As one member noted, “That’s quite a variety.” 😆 I also created a list, similar to the one I created for the Twilight playlist, with toggles to click so you can view quotes or screen shots that relate to each song.
PAGE FOOTERS. I just know that you signed up for exciting updates like these… The Snail Mail Club menu at the bottom of each page was becoming a bit high maintenance, so I replaced it with a newsletter subscription sign up form. I’m not sure of a way to bulk update, so I changed each one manually. Fun!
Luna.
Please send lots of calming love Luna’s way. Our roof was heavily damaged in a hail storm last year, and the workers started construction on our new roof yesterday. There’s going to be a lot of noise and stuff going on for the next three weeks, and — I am not exaggerating — this is Luna’s nightmare!
Recent Inspirations.
Watching.
Beyond The Visible - Hilma af Klint (2019). This film about Swedish artist Hilma af Klint (1862–1944) seemed like a pretty typical documentary… Absolutely worth watching, though, just for the images of af Klint’s incredible work.
Reading.
God Emperor of Dune (1981). In this edition of How You Dune? - I finished reading another Dune book! Even though we are thousands of years out from the original story and things are getting pretty wild, I am still enjoying these. Currently reading Heretics of Dune, and the story is getting so complex.
I have put serious thought into hosting a book club with the purpose of reading Dune like a sacred text. If you would be interested, please let me know!
In conclusion.
I had planned to write about grief + The Wicker Man (the ninth (!) anniversary of my father’s passing was a few days ago), but then I had a lot of thoughts about watching golf. I could use a little more time to untangle my thoughts about the grief stuff anyway.
If you are someone who has a lot of small interests rather than a few big passions, I’d love to hear about it. Are you frustrated by it, feel like it’s a superpower, or something in between? Is it more common that I think it is? Or less?
Please let me know what it’s been like for you or share some of your mini-passions.
💖 Becky H
💚 Dear Chizuko
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