Nothing Is Ever Certain.

Tess Was My First Experience Of A Woman Who Had Inhabited Her Weirdness, Moved Into The Areas Of Herself That Made Her Distinct From Those Around Her, And Learned How To Display Them Proudly.

The Relationship With The Words Someone Uses Is More Intimate And Integrated Than Just A Quick Read And A Blurb Can Ever Be. This Intimacy - The Words On The Page Being Sent Back And Forth From Engaged Editor To Open Author - Is Unique In My Experience.

He Would Find His Susie,inside His Young Son. Give That Love To The Living.

She Didn't Even Have To Smile, And She Rarely Did Outside Her House--it Was The Eyes, Her Dancer's Carriage, The Way She Seemed To Deliberate Over The Smallest Movement Of Her Body.

And In A Small House Five Miles Away Was A Man Who Held My Mud-encrusted Charm Bracelet Out To His Wife. Look What I Found At The Old Industrial Park," He Said. "a Construction Guy Said They Were Bulldozing The Whole Lot. They're Afraid Of Sink Holes Like That One That Swallowed The Cars." His Wife Poured Him Some Water From The Sink As He Fingered The Tiny Bike And The Ballet Shoe, The Flower Basket And The Thimble. He Held Out The Muddy Bracelet As She Set Down His Glass. This Little Girl's Grown Up By Now," She Said. Almost. Not Quite. I Wish You All A Long And Happy Life.