Connections

Quite a long while ago, I happened upon Rich Cohen's blog. It was an accident, although as time has gone on there seem to be a hundred connections in things we've seen, other blogs we read. But this very first day, I read some post --- not even sure which one --- and thought "Wow, this guy can write." I sent it on to Roger Simon --- who agreed and linked Richard's post.

Rich has made a book of some of the best posts from his blog, mostly small fictions, little scenes that seem to go nowhere until you take a second look. Like this:

He hocked his guitar for gasoline a hundred miles ago. Far from the first time he'd had to do that. It used to bother him a lot--he's loved every guitar he's ever held--but now he thinks of it as like sending his kids off to college. Some local boy will pick up a Guild twelve-string he couldn't otherwise afford and play it for pretty girls on the lawn of a dorm building.

That's picked randomly, on a bet with myself that anywhere I opened the book I'd see a paragraph that I wanted to bring out and highlight. I won the bet. This guy can write.