—TURNS OUT EVERYWHERE YOU GO, YOU TAKE YOURSELF

…I woke to an email entitled “AGING IS NOW OPTIONAL.” It sure doesn’t feel like that.

…Yesterday I woke at 4:30am for a very early flight only to arrive at the airport and discover I had a seven-hour delay. Yikes. But the good thing about being a reader is you always have something to do if you’re packing along books with yourself.

…AWP was certainly a different event this year, what with all the virus hysteria. One of the main directors of the conference resigned over the decision to go ahead with things. A ton of my friends cancelled. Some, who are not necessarily close friends, were a bit strident about those of us who did decide to participate. But that’s okay. We’re all entitled to our own views.

…Consequently, there were about half as many attendees as usual i.e., 7,000 instead of 15,000 or so. It actually made for a more intimate experience where conversations broke through the small-talk sheen. We were told in advance that handshakes and hugging were prohibited, yet with the exception of two friends I ran into, there was hugging a-plenty as you can see from above.

In past years I’ve written about tribes and how much I cherish belonging to my writing community. That’s still the case, and maybe even more so. I feel so lucky to know and have the friendship of all these incredible writers that make me feel safe, happy and vibrant. I adore them all. Truly.