It’s my birthday week and I’m contemplative. Having an August birthday comes with the “end of summer” and always feels a little like Lana’s, that “Summertime Sadness.” You know, melancholy with a touch of let’s-live-while-we-can feeling. (Plus it has the line, “You’re the best, baby” which, of course, makes me think Marcus wrote bits of it.)

Last year my birthday gift to me was a day cleared for The Innocent Prince, a day of writing in my favorite writing places. I wish