I have two muses on my desk and a couple on the floor, like most writers I’m superstitious, the muses have brought me to a life that I love and kept me there. I had an argument with a friend today and he said he was sorry that he made me unhappy.

Unhappy?, I replied. I love my wife, my work, my life, my farm, my dogs and donkeys. I am a very happy man. So I’m kind to muses, at night I put my new Blue Lamp – Maria bought it for me in Brattleboro, Vt. Sunday for $40 – on the muses as they stand together, one reminding me of life, the other of death. Keeps me humble.