To David

I know I’ve said it before, but since this is your big event, CONGRATULATIONS! It’s not easy to go back to school after a few years, but you did it and you did great. You are a lovely (as Shannon would say), lively, gifted man–but now you are all that and a degree. So on to the MFA program to hone your writing skills even further and maybe one day help other scholars fulfill their dreams!

Also, I seem to recall talk of dinner while we were in NYC, but when I realized this was your graduation weekend, I thought it might be hard to mesh schedules. Aside from BEA, the only thing I want to do is sit in Central Park at Bethesda Fountain. Maybe we could run into each other there, like Daniel runs into Adam and Blaine… You have my cell number, right? If we end up caught up in some drunken FARB/GREG trap, maybe I should call you. You know, so you can tell them about the Betty Ford Plan.