499: In 1967, Leonard Cohen asked Judy Collins, “Why haven’t you ever written any of your own songs?" which, she said, "felt like he gave me permission to write.” She went home and wrote “Since You Asked” in 20 minutes, and 55 years later the words, the music, and that voice evoke the end of Ikiru…
…. melding with Yeats:
But O that I were young again
And held her in my arms!
…bearing me back graciously into the past:
500: The pizzaiolo has one hand on the oven door handle. In his head are four silent timers with no numbers.
501: My offense is lacking but I am a terrific defensive bowler.
502: Aspirational (remaining so) entry in notebook from early teaching days.