Frank's Behind the Scenes July 2025 Reflections
As I write this essay, I reflect on July 4—a day that always seems miles away until it’s right on top of you. 2025 is a year that sounds like it could only ever be numerals picked at random to create a futuristic backdrop for some Stallone film from the 1990s. But be that as it may, this was my best Fourth of July in recent memory.
The weather up here in the northeast was perfect: mid-80s with low humidity and minimal plane-fart cloud cover. A great mix of family and friends attended, everyone ate well, and as for fireworks, we had enough explosives to choke a blue whale. Aurora played with her cousins until she slipped into a blissfully delirious state of exhaustion. Given the devastation we are learning about in Texas, particularly involving the tragic loss of so many young people, our family is feeling very blessed.
Throughout the day’s events, I was in some form of reflection and prayer. Half of this year is already gone (the Christmas in July Hallmark movies are playing), and this always invites me to reassess and be grateful. 2025 has provided plenty of opportunities for growth and challenges to be met—all outside of the nightly show that you watch in your own time.
Over the first seven months of the year, I have legally reorganized the business, dealt with a truly pathetic trademark issue with a New Age desert-dweller in a turban, began planning the Quite Frankly Jamboree, and worked through many other issues both personally and professionally. With all of that going on, what you see on-screen is almost like a nightly getaway I’m able to take for a few hours at the studio. Connecting with the audience during the broadcast and watching Aurora play T-ball are two of my greatest sources of joy. T-ball has been a trip!
Aurora loved staying up late with her “big cousins”, Jaden and Jasmine for fireworks & fun!
Still, there is something different about the summer sun, the Fourth of July, this midway point in the year. It’s a physical shift in gears that makes January through mid-May feel as though it was another year altogether; and with that, we will travel this steamy, sunny, wormhole into the wondrous world of autumn…which leads me to my next thought:
This is the last monthly newsletter, as we are switching to a quarterly schedule, better-focused on seasonal themes and spotlights on our wonderful community of Franklies. I’ve loved this newsletter from its very first edition and would like to thank Krista Roman for creating it, and to my wife, Lauren, for working to help Krista prepare it for launch.
Much more on the way, my friends. In the meantime, please continue to watch the show and read through the incredible archive of past editions of the Bulletin, which are chock-full of evergreen stories, recipes, and special content that were meant to live forever and be enjoyed!
-Frank