New Year’s Greetings!
Well we made it through 2025, that much is certain. And for the New Year, I'm praying for a return to civility, common sense, and a reconnection with our founders' values.
I know, it’s a lot to ask, but I’m praying for it anyway.
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Contents of This Newsletter
1. New Substack story: "Silk Mills and Bluejeans"
2. At my website: info on my 2027 Ireland tour
3. Song of the Month: "Hard to Walk Out on a Deal"
4. Wisdom for the New Year from George Washington & Shane Claiborne
1. New Substack story: "Silk Mills and Blue Jeans"
You're probably familiar with Substack, a platform for all kinds of writers and writing. For me, it's a way to share some writing that doesn't fit into a song or a poem. I'm aiming to post something each week, and so far, mostly so good.
If you subscribe, you'll get each of my new stories in your Inbox. Subscription is free but there's a $5/month paid option as well. But you can just read online. Easy.
To read the "Silk Mills and Blue Jeans" (and my earlier stories), click here:
https://tomkimmel222395.
...then click on either Subscribe or No thanks, and you're in.
2. Ireland 2027 info at my website now
2027 seems far away, but the tours fill up so quickly. The tour company (Inishfree Tours) begins taking 2027 reservations next month.
That tour info is at at my website now: https://tomkimmel.com/ireland
3. Song of the Month: "Hard to Walk Out on a Deal"
I shared this one awhile back, but the entertainment biz pulse being what it is these days, I'm sharing again.
It's from my Light of Day album, and I wrote it with the late great Tom Prasada-Rao. He's on guitar and I'm singing. Just one mic in the middle of a room. The Ally McBeal reference dates it a bit, but I think it's no less timely. (Note that there's some serious silliness at the end.)
It's free download this month at my website: https://www.tomkimmel.com
(Scroll down to Song-of-the-Month. You can also stream it on the page or at all those streaming places.)
4. Wisdom for the New Year
“The United States gives to bigotry no sanction.”
—George Washington (1732-1799), first President of the United States
"As you battle the beast, be careful not to become the beast."
—Shane Claiborne (b. 1975), writer & activist
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Till next month, Maximum Peace, Love, and Understanding,
TK
PS Thanks always to the folks at Elixir Strings for keeping me playing the world's best strings for over 25 years.
Image credits:
The Typewriter Museum (antique typewriter); IndustriALL (offshore textile mill); Kenneth Robinson (Light of Day cover photo)
George Washington portrait is by Gilbert Stewart