Mandrake of Zenith

Fred Pohl used to say that he had made a deal with God: every day, he would write 1000 words, and God would allow him to live. Fred had a sarcastic wit, and I doubt that he really meant that--although one never knows. I also don't know if he really wrote 1000 words every single day, but he gave a pretty good appearance of doing so. I wrote around 600 words one day, and it occurred to me that maybe I could make a deal: if I wrote 666 words each and every day, the demons would leave me alone. Ha ha, she said, to indicate that this is meant to be a joke . . . first, because I don't actually believe in demons that exist outside our own minds, and second, because it's pretty unlikely I could ever stick to doing ANYTHING every single day. But 666 words seems like such an amusing and achievable goal that maybe I'll keep it in mind. Today it was 707, also a pleasing number, although not a round 1000.

I also went for a walk, and watered my plants. I wish it would rain! I also wish my legs were not so tired after all the walking around and swimming yesterday. My asthma is bothering me again. I saw the woodchuck again when I went out to water the plants. I hope he's finding something good to eat.