The sunshine has returned! It may be 36 degrees out there, but I'm still going to hang towels on the line this morning because I have confidence in spring.

Yesterday I learned that Michael Simms, the founder of Autumn House Press and the online magazine Vox Populi, had been hospitalized for (probably) Covid. I'm relieved to say that he's home now, and recovering. Mike is one of five people I know personally who has most likely suffered through this scourge. One of those people is my older son, who was quite sick in February with a nasty "flu" that settled in his lungs. Meanwhile, my younger son spent a chunk of February in NYC, shoulder to shoulder with theatergoers. None of us here at the Alcott house have had symptoms, but it's completely possible that we were carriers during the early weeks of the panic. We followed instructions; we behaved as advised. Still, we did not know that we might have been exposed . . . either because that information was not available, or because it was being suppressed.

Meanwhile, the White House has become a hot spot. The reason? Vanity. Life is feeling quite Old Testament these days.

So I am hanging towels on the line because I have confidence in spring: because it feels good to have confidence in something. I also have confidence in friendship, good humor, generosity, patience, comic timing, and vigor.

Thank you for walking this earth with me.