A little crank letter

I have capitulated to the insistence of my family, chiefly my wife, the artist Janet Van Fleet, that I post some excerpts from my writing on a blog, which sounds like a bad cold, but evidently everyone’s got it.  The excerpts,  identified by their titles on the pages at the right, can be accessed by a click, and every click will be an acupunture needle driven into my ego with a five-pound hammer, because I am ever mindful of Dr. Johnson’s observation that only a fool writes except for money.  You can leave your comments on this site or turn with a roll of your eyes and tiptoe out the way you came in so that no one will be the wiser.