Today I did not stir from the house. I am entering a period of very serious economic retrenchment. Moreover, I am using the spring to get my body moving again. After reading a manuscript all day, and doing a pleasurable interview on KFGO, I ran three miles and then walked another 5.6. The air was spectacular. The countryside is still brown and gray, dead and lifeless, but the hint of spring is definitely in the air. My middle aged body is creaky and stiff, but after that mild workout I felt marvelous--alive again. The chemical high from breathing seriously and calmly and drinking in the wonders of North Dakota, was magnificently satisfying. Now I am reading in that way that comes so seldom--when we can read steadily and without fatigue forever.

Clay