John and I were at a party last weekend, which in itself is noteworthy. He dressed as a magician, and I grabbed a sparkly gown from the theater. No crown or wings, just your generic fairy godmother. 

I say he was a magician, but his head hung low as he walked to the car. Somewhere in the last few months, he left his black velvet cape and briefcase of tricks behind. He cannot find them. All he had was a deck of cards and a rubber band. 

The witches outnumbered the sports fans at this particular costume gig, though none performed any spells that I was aware of. Neither did they lift their brooms into action. 

John offered to do a trick, and a cat lady said she was happy to watch. In actual fact, she was not quite sure if she remembered which card she had picked way at the beginning, but we believed him that it was indeed the same one. He performed a few others that fit better into our short attention spans, and we were impressed. 

A woman who has a history of sewing costumes smiled when she told me that she had created the one I was wearing. Really? Five thousand pieces in the storage room and I nabbed one made by the person attending the same event as us? What are the odds? She told me about the play she wore it in and how long ago it ran. 

In the kitchen, Taylor Swift, or rather someone dressed like her, said she enjoyed reading my stories each day. 

"Do you have them lined up way in advance?"

"No, I compose them the morning before I send them." 

She was surprised. So am I.

There are days when I feel stale, doubtful that I can eke out anything interesting. Then I wait, and listen. A nibble of a story shows up, and I take a bite. It all resonates with the experience of the Children of Israel in the desert. They were told to gather manna only for the next day. The word manna means "What is it?" and the families that stooped to the ground to pick it up were fed for forty years. 

Being in the present can be nerve wracking. Or it can be calm. These stories have continued to emerge for thirteen years, and only a few times have readers been perplexed. 
 

"What was that?"