I got a new pair of glasses today in Bennington, Vt., they cost $383 dollars. The frame cost $88, the lens made up the rest. I love these glasses, I did not care for the ones I was wearing. I am vain about my glasses, it is one of the few affectations left to me as a writer.

I want them to look writerly. To me, that means small and round. I e-mailed a photo of them from the store to Maria and she approved. When I told Bob I wanted to look writerly, he cracked up. No one had ever said that to him before, he said, but he pulled out a few pairs that worked for me.

Vanity is not something I indulge in, not at my age. I’ve been wearing the same clothes every day – blue work shirt, jeans, a sweater in the winter and suspenders, for about 15 years now. I change clothes every day or so,  but the are always the same thing, jeans, work shirt, suspenders an a sweater in the winter.

Maria thinks it’s time to mix things up a little bit – she got me into colored socks – but I like the clothes I am wearing. Like Mao, I think clothes don’t really matter, I just want something to cover my body so I can work. These glasses just fit me, and they fit my idea of myself.

I never look at my clothes in the mirror, my face is the only part of me I ever see in the mirror, and I loved my glasses from the start. Bob says these are on of the earliest style frames made, they were one of the original frames. I am very happy to have them, all the better to see you with.