story: Helping 

author: Robert Stone

year: 1988

where: kitchen table, Italy, making coffee

note: a favorite-favorite

a line: “’Sometimes,’ Elliot said, ‘I try to imagine what it’s like to believe that the sky is full of care and concern.’”

story: Haircut

author: Ring Lardner

year: 1925

where: bed, Gaggio Montano

note: yesterday, at La Feltrinelli Bookstore, I spotted a Ring Lardner collection in Italian

a line: “Comb it wet or dry?”