Even After I'd Published Three Books And

You May Never Learn The Names Of Any Of The People You Talk To In A Dog Park, Even After Many, Many Hours Spent There With Them, And Many Hours Of Conversation. But If - Knock On Wood - Anything Should Ever Happen To Your Dog, These Nameless Non-strangers Will Rally, Sympathize, Offer To Help, And Hold Your Hand. I Know This From Experience.

The First Thing I Think About When I Wake Up Most Mornings Is The Fact That I'm Tired. I Have Been Tired For Decades. I Am Tired In The Morning And I Am Tired While Becalmed In The Slough Of The Afternoon, And I Am Tired In The Evening, Except Right When I Try To Go To Sleep.

I Work At Home, In The Country, And Days Will Go By When, Except For My Husband And Son And The Occasional Ups Man, The Only Sentient Creatures That See Me Are My Chickens And Turkeys.

I Remember, When I Was A Kid, Watching My Mother Jam Herself Into Her Girdle - A Piece Of Equipment So Rigid It Could Stand Up On Its Own - And I Remember Her Coming Home From Fancy Parties And Racing Upstairs To Extricate Herself From Its Cruel Iron Grip.

You Have To Appreciate The Spiritual Component Of Having An Opportunity To Do Something As Wondrous As Writing. You Should Be Practical And Smart And You Should Have A Good Agent And You Should Work Really, Really Hard. But You Should Also Be Filled With Awe And Gratitude About This Amazing Way To Be In The World.