Feeling gratitude for...

...the rain today, a chilly one, though much needed in the drought-parched world of northeast Georgia

...whatever happy spirit led me to read Ursula Le Guin's "Lavinia," a wonderfully imagined "addition" to the Aeneid that in my view ought to be on the Pulitzer short list

...Myra, who invited me to read and talk about "The Sun Singer" at last week's read-a-thon at Hall Book Exchange in Gainesville, Georgia

...friends who ask whether "Garden of Heaven" has found a publisher yet

...Nancy who convinced me I should finally read "The Golden Compass"

...those who served with me on the Historic Preservation Commission as our terms expire at the end of the year

...those crazy relatives in Memphis whom my wife and I will visit at Thanksgiving

...my daugher and new (relatively) granddaughter whom we'll be seeing in two weeks in Indiana

...the muse or angel who brings the words to me when I sit down and write and who has to tolerate me wondering whether the process will work each time I can't postpone it any longer.