A little secret here: I have forever harbored the quiet notion that my body of work would one day be important enough to require a scholarly archive. So ever since 1993 and the Sports Illustrated for Kids book Over the Edge, I have saved every hard copy revision of every manuscript I've ever written (with the exception of In-line Skating Made Easy, which I knew would one day require a great deal of explanation).
I bought a pressure washer the other day. I've wanted one for years. I didn't get around to it until Sadie, our new puppy, began leaving indelicate memories on our backyard pavers. The sort of memories that leave a stain. There is a price to be paid for having a backyard without grass and giving free reign to a puppy many weeks away from being housebroken….
Once upon a time I worked as a deckhand on party boat in Newport Harbor. A normal cruise ran two hours and started with the busy-ness of pouring drinks, serving brunch, and clearing dishes. But once all that was done and the guests settled down to find the bar on their own there was no need to stay below….
