I'm  overwhelmed by the responses to "Piers Plowman" . . . I'm so glad you liked it, but I'm also surprised, red-faced, taken aback by the outpouring in my email and elsewhere. 

Feelings: how awkward they are; how silly and spotted with acne! I will lug my bulky sheepishness onto the Lake Shore Limited and hold it in my lap as the train speeds through spring. 

I still can't quite believe I'll be doing this: riding a train alone, halfway across the country.

This time tomorrow I'll be in Ohio or Indiana, writing to you as the cars rocket down the tracks, my hair scrunched up weird from sleeping in my seat, with a notebook full of jottings about fellow passengers and the back sides of cities and the strengths and weaknesses of my picnic planning. I'll see you there--