I keep reading “possessor of Paul Newman eyes” as “Professor of Paul Newman eyes” and so I can not think of you as a non-professor.

When you first found me on Medium, and you loved my stories, I was confused by the Chinese script at the bottom of your then Medium Bio and I thought Alan Asnen was a Chinese woman’s name. You had a different picture in your Medium circle then.

I often knock off a “haiku” or “tanka” but it isn’t because I claim to be able to write poetry.

I think having to read only 17 or 32 syllables attracts a “tired of scrolling” reader. So the story gets read, more than a longer one. The point of haiku or tanka is to draw the reader in with a short read.