The Top 10 Reasons My Old Friend Just Subscribed to My Substack, Plus: Why My Friend's Surprise Subscription Is a Game-Changer for Me
Rick Retro’s Realm, The Realm Report #4: Also including news and updates.
The Top 10 Reasons My Old Friend Just Subscribed to My Substack
#10. My other stack is one of blackmail material on him.
#9. We have Dark Whimsy.
#8. Probably looking for attention, and I’m foolishly enabling him by giving it.
#7. He’s a schoolteacher in England, where he is up against He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and a legion of young students of the Dark Arts, competing in a fight to the death to see who can inspire the most Substack subscriptions in 30 days. (See, I told you we have Dark Whimsy.)
#6. Ultimately, despite his many faults, Scott has good taste!
#5. Just wants to hear me drop the line, “‘Ah, interesting.’ thought the crowd. ‘Nice point.’” one last time.
#4. Hopes I can direct him to a shrubbery for the Knights Who Say “Ni!”
#3. He’s really getting tired of soccer, rugby and cricket, and longs for some news of Angels baseball.
#2. Surreptitiously checking out a mistaken rumor that I was auditioning for a part that he wants.
And the #1 Reason My Old Friend Just Subscribed to My Substack:
#1. He’s originally from Idaho, so no rational reason is needed. 😁❤️
But Seriously, a.k.a. “Why My Friend's Surprise Subscription Is a Game-Changer for Me.”
OK, “Game-Changer” will probably turn out to be an AI-fueled exaggeration. But I can hope, right? And it is very inspiring when you haven’t yet been promoting your Substack to very many friends and family and one of your best friends ever finds it on his own!
Scott, a.k.a. Scooter, a.k.a. Scotty, and I were friends in college. He was an extroverted drama major attending a private Christian university in Southern California, with Hollywood stars in his eyes. I was a more reserved commuter student, originally a Bible major, converted to a drama major, more interested in directing than acting, at least at first. When I began acting, I observed Scott, and found him obnoxious, not the least because we competed for similar parts! 🤣 But soon we both were cast to be on a mime ministry team that performed primarily for children and youth at local churches. We got to know each other fairly well, became good friends and, later, roommates.
Scott loves movies and my love for them grew along with our friendship. I believe he discovered The Gods Must Be Crazy at a little independent theater in downtown L.A. and alerted me to go see it. I’m sure we must have attended together at least a couple of the early 80s films I’ve reviewed here. We even beat Mystery Science Theater 3000 to the punch, roasting a bad martial arts comedy out loud in a mostly-empty theater during a Thanksgiving matinee. It was such a bad film, I’ve long forgotten its name!
There are lots of other shared memories from last-minute rushes to Angel games, to shared classses, to working on the same theatrical productions, to late-night toilet-papering of professors’ domiciles, to adventures in his home town of Coeur d’Alene. Over the years, we have been in and out of touch, but some friendships last forever. Scott, I’m glad you’re here!
Scott is as much of a people-person as you will ever meet, and would perhaps like to know all of the subscribers in our community better. Introduce yourself to Scott (and all of us) in the comments below, and tell us where you are originally from.
Behind the Scenes
Yes, I’m now waaay behind schedule on Project #3, Dark Whimsy Favorites. Unanticipated events and more bad spells of health than usual played a role, but so did distractions I should have dispensed with. So no excuses, I didn’t live up to my expectations and perhaps not yours. I’m still learning what I am capable of and not capable of, and trying to keep my ambitious expectations realistic. Thanks for your patience while I figure it out.
That said, I only see one planned event that could slow down my June schedule, so I hope to work overtime and get Project #3 back on schedule, while also working to finally get all of those old text-group posts from last December into the archives here for all of you new subscribers to enjoy.
So as a reminder, if you get an email for a review of a Christmas movie here in the summer of 2025, that’s from last year and means it is now entering our Substack archives!
Subscriber Count!
Scott is #32. Not much more than last issue, when it was 29. Still no worries. Still not making that a high priority, but glad to see slow growth!
Around 40 years ago, I spied a large sign by the side of the road that read “Welcome to Idaho, Rick!”.
Welcome to Substack, Scott!
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Thanks for your support.
Keep the comments coming!
Last updated 2025-05-30
I'm originally from Seattle, but moved with my family to the Los Angeles area in third grade (1970), where I have lived ever since, except for a few months living in the Czech Republic in 1990.
How about you?
The Timberline Sluggers! That name hasn't crossed my mind in decades! Thanks for the memory!