I've Always Thought Things Were Absurd. It

After I Left College I Thought, Very Naively, That Either You Became Someone Interesting - An Artist - Or You Went Into Academia. If You Ended Up In An Office You Were Dull And Lacking. And I Ended Up In An Office.

Without Work, So Much Of One's Identity Just Evaporates.

Once I Had The Voice, I Knew I Wasn't Going To Fall Off The Bicycle. I Tap Right Back Into It. It Really Was Like Learning How To Ride A Bike - You Never Forget, And I Was Able To Carry It Along With Some Ease. I Never Encountered Any Stumping Problems That Left Me Not Knowing What To Do, So I Was Mostly Able To Hold My Ground. Of Course, I Should Mention That It Took Me A Long Time To Actually Acquire The Voice; There Were A Lot Of Frustrated Attempts Along The Way, Revisions To Long Sections And Versions Of The Book That I Abandoned.

I'm Being Provided With Some Emotional Ballast By Giving Me An Intimate Portrait Of One Character In Particular In Contrast To The Collective. I'm Fortunate That I Had Very Sympathetic Readers, But Ordinarily - If A Book Makes You Laugh Too Much, It Shifts From "literature" To "entertainment."

Yet For All The Depression No One Ever Quit. When Someone Quit, We Couldn't Believe It. 'i'm Becoming A Rafting Instructor On The Colorado River,' They Said. 'i'm Touring College Towns With My Garage Band.' We Were Dumbfounded. It Was Like They Were From Another Planet. Where Had They Found The Derring-do? What Would They Do About Car Payments? We Got Together For Going Away Drinks On Their Final Day And Tried To Hide Our Envy While Reminding Ourselves That We Still Had The Freedom And Luxury To Shop Indiscriminately.