I’d gone to an outdoor store in Minneapolis called REI about a dozen times over the previous months to purchase a good portion of these items. Seldom was this a straightforward affair. To buy even a water bottle without first thoroughly considering the latest water bottle technology was folly, I quickly learned. There were the pros and cons of various materials to take into account, not to mention the research that had been done regarding design. And this was only the smallest, least complex of the purchases I had to make. The rest of the gear I would need was ever more complex, I realized after consulting with the men and women of REI, who inquired hopefully if they could help me whenever they spotted me before displays of ultralight stoves or strolling among the tents. These employees ranged in age and manner and area of wilderness adventure proclivity, but what they had in common was that every last one of them could talk about gear, with interest and nuance, for a length of time that was so dumbfounding that I was ultimately bedazzled by it. They cared if my sleeping bag had snag-free zipper guards and a face muff that allowed the hood to be cinched snug without obstructing my breathing. They took pleasure in the fact that my water purifier had a pleated glass-fiber element for increased surface area. And their knowledge had a way of rubbing off on me. By the time I made the decision about which backpack to purchase — a top-of-the-line Gregory hybrid external frame that claimed to have the balance and agility of an internal — I felt as if I’d become a backpacking expert.

I loved it. You gave it more production than that f — — ing Jack Warner!

They leave me and I love them more.

Lore: Making a note here: HUGE SUCCESS!

I was irrevocably betrothed to laughter, the sound of which has always seemed to me to be the most civilized music in the world.

Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more.

My dreams were at once more fantastic and agreeable than my writings.

I remember envying the boys long before I even knew the word feminism, because I liked shop better than cooking or sewing.

I wanted u more than I wanted me

They were deeply in love, which beats earplugs.

I was too enamored of truth ever to mourn lost illusions.

Fantasy love is much better than Reality Love.

As the new work fills my notebooks, I've come to realize that the characters in my stories were so real because I really did want to get close to people, I really did want to know them. It was just easier to do it on paper, one step removed.

Seriousness shows itself more majestically when laughter leads the way.