Danielle Steel and summer

Exciting news for us writing nerds - you can now modify an actual old-fashioned manual typewriter to connect to your computer! Check it out at usbtypewriter.com. So you can sound and feel like Hemingway while speeding along with all your modern RAM.

I myself am not crazy enough about Hemingway, or nostalgic enough about the finger strength necessary with a manual typewriter, to do such a thing. But you might.

It's hot. Not that long ago, I hated the inexcusable energy waste of air conditioning so much that I resolved never to have it in my house. Then it occurred to me, one day as I sat in the dark with rivulets of sweat running down my body, that the world was getting hotter, and I work mostly at home. I need to be able to think, at least occasionally. And so, after the fire when my house was being ripped apart in any case, I had A.C. installed. To do my bit for the planet, I keep my blinds and curtains closed, my clothing minimal, and the thermostat high - between 78 and 80 degrees. But how grateful I am for these cooling breezes, right now. I can work, think, write to you without melting. Whereas Wayson, as I said, has to go to the mall.

Also re summer - I was at the local No Frills yesterday, a block away on Parliament Street, where I buy most of my groceries - cheap and handy. But now that I'm trying to buy local produce, I was stunned at what's on offer in the produce department there - almost all the vegetables and fruit, even those in season, were from California or Mexico! Ridiculous. There should be a law. So tomorrow I'll ride my bike to the St. Lawrence farmer's market and load up on local fare. Then I'll be both cool and well fed. I'm drinking a good, cold Ontario rosé as we speak. The treasures of summer.

Finally, I would like to share another kind of treasure with you. As you know, I go regularly to the second-hand store nearby and find wonderful things. Just today, I saw but did not buy a sixties L.P. of Spanish music played on the zither, by a woman who wore an astounding amount of eye makeup and held her zither like a baby. This I did not buy, tempting as it was. But when I saw the book "LOVE - poems by Danielle Steel," (wish I could replicate the ornate font) I could not resist. For 50 cents, I have something that will keep on giving for years to come. I'd like to share one of the wonders inside with you. All the poems are spaced the same way, wiggling across the page. So moving! So honest and true! I am opening at random, and I find ...

Crash into my life

Did you mean

to crash

into my life

this way,

leaving everything

so topsy-turvy

as you left?

Do you mean

to tell me

that you

didn't know

I'd care?

Did you really

think I'd laugh

and walk

away?

How small you must have

thought me,

if even

for a moment

you believed

I could

smell roses

in the air

and taste

champagne

again,

and walk

away

at midnight

to rake

my leaves

and give up

life again.

Thank you, Danielle.

How exquisite the lines:

to rake

my leaves

and give up

life again.

Sigh.

For a moment as I read, yes, I felt a touch of despair. This woman is one of the most successful writers in the history of the world, at least in terms of money and readership. This book was published by a reputable publisher.

Sigh.

I hope it has given pleasure to many women, who also have to rake their leaves and give up life. But enough merriment. I, in the meantime, have some rosé to drink and some writing to do.