New Year’s Day, Inside & Out

Two wishes top my list for New Year’s this year.

1. Several jars full of new pens and sharpened pencils– two at my house, and one at my office. With a pair of sharp scissors, too.  So that, in 2010, each time I reach for a writing implement, it will be a working one.

2. To  remember the words of my wise friend, Gus. He says:

Many ask, what is the meaning of life? But really our only concern need be the living of life. Truly experiencing the mystery and beauty of each day.

Gus is in his sixties or seventies–I’m not exactly sure of his age. He often wakes at night and can’t get back to sleep. So he gets up and goes outside. Always, no matter what the weather. He’ll don a coat over his pajamas, or carry an umbrella if he needs to. As a matter of policy, he looks up and studies the sky. Gus told me once that he was frail as a child and at least once came close to dying. “I never thought I’d live this long,” I’ve heard him say. His children are grown and he lives alone. He still works as a designer.  For years I’ve tried to figure out what kind of moisturizer makes his face so shiny. It’s probably vaseline. But I like to believe it’s royal jelly.