“The first porch is where you find your voice. The second porch is where your voice finds others.” —Poor Brentford Lee (b. 1947. Keeper of two porches, one mountain, one dog, and an inexhaustible supply of things worth saying—none of which he has to say alone anymore, thanks to his partner, Gary.)
Dear Faithful Readers,
You’ve been here with me on the porch since—well, some of you since the very beginning, back when I built it as nothing more than a place where you could pull up a chair and talk with me about the joys, challenges, and discoveries of research. We kept right on doing that from 2012 to 2021 when I decided to make the porch a little more fun by bringing you weekly creative nonfiction essays.
I’m still at it. Nearly 750,000 words later. Yes, you read it right. Foolin’ around in bed every night with ideas and words adds up. I’m spurred on by you, my Dear Readers, whose numbers keep increasing annually! Last year, we shared more than 35,000 views right here on the porch.
But I’ve built a brand-new porch, and I want you to be the first to know about it.
Don’t worry, though. I’m not leaving The Wired Researcher porch. It will remain open virtually forever. Same Monday mornings. Same voice–mine, with Poor Brentford’s voice chiming in from time to time. We’ll both be there, waiting for you.
I just heard someone shout out:
“So, why are you building a new porch? What’s that all about?”
Well, for starters, it has better lighting, and it might just bring in more neighbors for all of us to visit and exchange ideas.
I’m counting on you to check it out. I’ve named the second porch The Kendrick Chronicles.
“Where on earth is this new porch of yours?”
Gracious me! You know that I like to take my time–slow and easy like. In a sec, I’ll give you the link so that you can check it out for yourself. And when you do, go ahead and Subscribe! From that point forward, my essays–ever goldern new one that hits the world, every Monday morning like a neighbor who always brings something worth reading and never overstays his welcome–will find their way directly to your Inbox.
You can find this new porch of mine in Substack. Here’s the link:
“What will I find when I get to this new porch of yours?”
Why, gracious me! You’ll find a comfy chair with your name on it and a handful of your favorite essays with my name on ’em:
● Redbuds of Remembrance
● Learning to Love in New Ways
● I Am Afraid
● Poor Brentford Cleans the Wax Out of His Ears
● Two, Together
● Glimpses of My Mother’s Hands
● The Ghost of Palmyra Church Road
● Truths Half-Told. Letters Half-Burned. A Legacy Waiting to Be Fully Heard.
● Carrying the Bags of Colonial America’s Humourist
And get this. If you subscribe, next week you’ll get an essay about a kitchen disaster beyond belief: “Oh, No! No Sourdough!” And the week after that, “What We Know. What We Believe.” It may be the most complete thing I’ve ever written about who I am and what I believe about what comes next.
So go on now. Pull up a chair. Same voice. Wider porch.
Come find me there:
The Kendrick Chronicles — brentlkendrick.substack.com
But always remember to come back here, as I remain–
Epigraphically yours forever,
Brent L. Kendrick
(—and Poor Brentford Lee, who deserves full credit for my nonsense)
The Wired Researcher 