but at the end of CoT, Anna does NOT understand what's put her there; she has no redemptive moment. That's the only way that the ending will resonate with the audience.

guess I have a little more writing to do before Lab next week.

… if I were a sitcom I'd be well syndicated by now. And speaking of things entertainment, I heard from the first person among four who received Count of Three to read. Anne had the same comments that Monstro did (and was so quick to read what I e-mailed her, she'd already read draft one when I sent her draft two the following morning). Her comments on the first draft were the same as Monstro's: I need to write more and there need to be more soldiers. I've already taken care of the soldiers and added an additional page of dialogue, but Anne thinks “there's a lot more darker depths and crazy shit to plumb.”

That might not be a direct quote. The second draft has my page count up from 15 to 18. Three people have draft two in hand but I haven't yet heard any comments from them. Went to a new play last night and talked one of the readers into taking a role when “CoT” is read at the Mytown Playwright's Lab next week.

I know there needs to be more but my high-school friend's dad died after battling all sorts of cancer; Baby and I will be providing babysitting to said friend's toddler girl, also known as my baby's fiancee — you got to lock in that stuff early.

I've been in the e-mail game for a while now, and largely stay away from forwarded e-mails; most of my friends know not to send them to me. I get most of my e-mail from aggregate services. But when my father and Katie, two individuals as far as each other could be and still be human, both sent me the same

DON'T PUMP GAS ON MAY 15TH

e-mail within 24 hours of each other I realized it would be time to bring the thing to rest soon.

Carolyn sent it to me next, but with “The question —- Does a Gas out really do anything?” I expediently conjured up snopes.com and sent its “MAY 15th GAS OUT: false” entry to her. She sent it to everyone on her list, giving me credit while also noting how speedily I'd managed it.

The moment before I logged in to BlogHarbor, I received a fourth version from my church in California.

People, please: If it really makes you feel better, remove your faded-to-white “Support our Troops” yellow-ribbon magnets and instead adorn your automobile with a car cover as many days a week as you can.

Gave the final exams in my classes last night. One of my writing students thanked me for “making her writing better.” I replied, “thank you for making your writing better.” Then she gave me a hug. Very sweet.

The portfolio reviews in digital photography went well, as expected; they're all taking markedly better pics than the ones they shot at the beginning of the semester, which is quite the relief.

And, speaking of relief, the class newsletter was published, and everyone seemed to enjoy it.

Time to grade! Happy May Day!