The surname-appropriate Michael Eck has penned a long, lingering love note to the New Yorker in this week's Albany Times Union. Some key excerpts:

♥ "Good writing is good writing, no matter the subject."
♥ "Christmas 1999, he signed me up for a subscription, which I still consider one of the finest, most thoughtful gifts I have ever received—the gift of reading. I'm still a subscriber, and I believe I will long remain one."
♥ "In addition to Gladwell and the gang, I'm also a fan of [everyone who has ever written for the magazine]."
♥ "But even as the names change, I'll stay on, because the sheer quality of the writing is guaranteed by the imprint, just as it has been since Feb. 21, 1925. If anything, when David Remnick took over as the title's fifth editor in 1998, he improved upon the brand—at least from the controversial Tina Brown, who was at the helm when I came on board as a reader."
♥ "In 2001, I felt fickle, or brave, and I subscribed to Harper's as well. But I found that long-standing rag effete. It felt stuffy and ironic, where The New Yorker is content with being smart and funny."
♥ "Lakota [Ed.—Lakota?], who enters middle school next year, has been a fan of the cartoons for some time...And seeing him with the occasional copy of The New Yorker in his hands is heartwarming in ways I can't even begin to explain."
♥ "This Christmas, snooping for gift ideas and noticing the renewal cards coming in with increasing frequency, she re-upped my subscription; and I'm—we're—once again blessed with a year of reading."

Don't get us wrong. We like the New Yorker. Like. Most of the time. But Mr. Eck seems to be skulking creepily into restraining order territory. (Or give-me-a-job territory, which is equally frightening.)

Not to worry, though. Worst comes to worst, the New Yorker staffers can always build a protective fortress out of Malcolm Gladwell's fan mail.
[via Romenesko]