A LITTLE MORE TIME

This morning I got up early and put on my lawyer's costume for the first time in many months. I rode the subway down to Wall Street to interview for a consulting job. Since last summer, I have done little but write. These have been very happy days for me. But I am running out of money. With every passing month, student loan creditors and expenses gnaw mercilessly at my savings. Now I need to make a few dollars to finance myself for a while. Thankfully, I have the freedom to be selective in the work I choose. I never volunteer for "traditional employment." When I need to make money, I don't sacrifice my dignity. And I don't let anyone control me like a pawn. If my legal education got me anything, it's been the capacity to choose jobs that pay a living wage without submitting to total employer domination. It's a classic hedge.

This afternoon, my agent called and told me that the client settled the lawsuit. That means they don't need consultants anymore, at least this time. So I won't be doomed to an office for the next few weeks. That relieved me. Now I will have free mornings to write again, at least for a while. I apologize for the break today, but tomorrow I will be up and posting. Yet at some point in the coming weeks, I will be forced to suspend my everyday posting in order to make a few dollars. I will keep you updated when I know the details.

Behind every writer stands a financier. I don't have one yet; I need to be my own financier for a while longer.

I saw some interesting things in lower Manhattan. I actually walked past the 9/11 site for the first time ever, even though I have lived in New York for many years. I will go into greater detail tomorrow, but suffice it to say, the commuters didn't seem to pay attention to the fact that they were walking on historically significant ground. They didn't seem to pay attention to the gaping hole in the sky above them. No matter what Bush and the patriots said, the terrorists struck a crushing blow. The evidence was still there--in the nothingness above my head.

It was just another day at the World Trade Center site. But 8 years ago, it was a battlefield, scene of victory or a massacre, depending on your perspective. Now, it's just another place to make some money.

Until tomorrow. Thanks again for reading.