Giving Off Smoke

Book excerpt: This random, often playful, collection of some 100 bits and pieces has been assembled in many places over many years and in the cracks between major undertakings. It is up to the reader (hopefully reading out loud) to sample them and decide if they point to anything and what that is. Ultimately, pieces like these are private, personal, even idiosyncratic, sometimes little more than doodling or diary entries. So, the reader might draw a blank. The author hopes, however, that at least here and there, his smoke points to fire. And helps kind readers fill in their cracks.