Friday will mark the fifth anniversary of How We Got Here, my first experiment with long-form history writing on this site. I still use the tag occasionally but found it more useful to fold my articles into the History Thread. These articles have not only given me an outlet for my myriad obsessions, they’ve provided me a good deal of exposure and acknowledgment that wouldn’t have occurred if I’d, say, posted these things on my personal blog (I doubt “Groggy Dundee” would ever have been cited in a New York Times best-selling book!). Very grateful to the Avocado to allow me a platform and for everyone here who has read and commented over the years.

Fittingly, it’s my birthday, but calling that a historic occasion would make me sad.