It’s now just hours to go until my early morning flight — who knows whether I’ll get any sleep tonight. But I gotta say, I’ve had a pretty sweet day with good signs galore. First of all, my mom bought us all scratch tickets to help celebrate my wife’s birthday, and I won $100 on a $2 ticket, which I’ve never done before! Second, while on the highway later that afternoon, I saw this car ahead:
For those who know my screenwriting, my script that’s currently making a splash in Hollywood is called DEBATING X, so I’m gonna take that as a really good omen. My older daughter and I also enjoyed crystal clear weather at the Crane Estate in Ipswich, which was used in Greta’s recent LITTLE WOMEN. It’s an awesome spot.
It had been 4 and 1/2 months since I’d visited the Crane estate, almost exactly the same amount of time as since I last left the state (to go to NYC after the election victory). So there was a certain nice symmetry about returning here on the verge of another travel adventure. And permit me to repeat, it’s a beautiful place.
Do I have some jitters flitting around the corner of my mind? Sure. After all, case counts are rising, and even in Massachusetts, which has been really good about public health, I’m seeing more and more maskless folks (or chin strapping, which is equally useless). But I’m a hopeful guy, so I’ll close with a paraphrase of my favorite scene from THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION, uttered when Red escapes his own captivity:
I find that I’m so excited I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I think it’s the excitement only a vaccinated person can feel, a vaccinated person at the start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain. I hope I can make it safely around the country. I hope to see my friends and shake their hands. I hope America is as beautiful as it has been in my dreams. I hope. . .
The Six Corners 