Life consists of high moments interspersed with low moments, somewhat like a sine curve (ok, that’s the math teacher in me talking, haha). Usually those moments fall within a fairly narrow range of emotions, but occasionally there are outliers of stronger emotional impact (statistics teacher ☺). Negative times include illness, injury, death of somebody close, loss of a job, breakup of a relationship, or financial ruin (which a lot of people seem to be experiencing nowadays).

Positive times include unexpected success and, most importantly, good moments in personal relationships, including both family and friends. I have been thinking about moments which have truly delighted me in my life, and they include, among several others, the following dates. You can guess what happened at these times.☺

• Christmas morning, when I was 14 years old
• July 7, 1979
• July 26, 1983
• June 12, 1985
• the 1994-1995 school year
• March, 2000
• January, 2002
• July 10, 2009 (all right, this one is anticipated ☺)

Currently listening: Bob Dylan is one of the finest folk-rock artists ever, along with Richard Thompson, Simon & Garfunkel, Jethro Tull and the Band (in my opinion). I just bought the latest cd in his Bootleg Series, Tell Tale Signs, consisting of unreleased material from the past 20 years. As anticipated, it is outstanding stuff.

Currently reading: The SFWA recently selected Harry Harrison as its latest Nebula Grandmaster, so I decided to honor him by reading the first of his three “Deathworld” novels, whose original title was The Horse Barbarians. Harrison writes very enjoyable “B” fiction, the type of entertainment which goes well during a busy school season.