Sadly, yes, the holiday is over. And now it’s back to town again to get the groceries.

Luckily, it’s another really pretty day out there, gang. So it should be a nice drive. (Plus, I acquired this really happy family, and their dog, to go to town with me this time. Just to keep me constantly distracted. Nothing beats pandemonium in the car when you’re trying to drive!)

But, honestly, gang– I just want to stay here at my desk and work on Novitiate!! I made such great progress with it yesterday.

In fact, I’m starting to wonder if this is an actual novel and not a novella. We shall see.

However, the sooner I get to town and back, the sooner I can get back to work on the book. So I’m gonna scoot.

There is nothing to really report, anyway. The news couldn’t be more fake and/or more horrible when it isn’t fake, so I’ll just leave you to peruse it on your own.

And my life is quiet (for now) and really just sort of beautiful.

Enjoy your 5th of July, wherever you are in the world.

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

********************

I leave you with this!

A friend from NYC spent his July 4th holiday last night in Asbury Park, NJ. This is a town with a famous amusement park on the Jersey Shore. Bruce Springsteen is from there. And his first album was titled, Greetings From Asbury Park, NJ. So, of course, my friend’s message said, “Greetings from Asbury Park, NJ!”

And in return, I sent him a link to the song below (from Springsteen’s second album, The Wild, The Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle.) I’m guessing my friend dropped everything to play the song on his phone, because when you’re on the boardwalk of a famous and noisy amusement park at the crowded seashore, and the waves are crashing and fireworks are filling the crazy sky, you really want to drop everything and listen to a song that is 50 years old (!!!!).

Anyway. I really love this song. “4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)”. And truth be told, when I went briefly to college, in the fall of 1978, my roommate and I embarked on a passionate little sex-a-thon (meaning that we were each in love with other girls who no longer loved us, so we had wild & very emotional sex with each other, for about a year, to distract us from all the unrequited love in our lives that year). And my roommate’s name was Sandy.

I never forget her. Especially when there are songs like this to remind me. And it still breaks my heart just a little bit. (She was tall and slender, with very long, wavy red hair, and she wore glasses and was studying Engineering and was really, really funny and incredibly smart.)

So here it is: “4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)”. 1973. Enjoy.