Part of the joy of writing is the actual manual act of pushing keys with fingers. My handwriting could never keep up with my thoughts and was a terrible distraction. One can look at scribbling only so long before the crossings-out start censoring one’s very thoughts. In new friendships, there is so much to fill in, like when you've known each other all your lives and haven't seen or heard from the other for SO LONG! There is so much to catch up on, to fill in. With some new friends, it doesn't seem like we're starting from right now.

I had an English professor in college (doesn't that sound elegant? But it was just a brief happening, me and college.) who told about sitting next to a man on the plane and they exchanged the usual chit-chat about work and family, very superficial. They almost didn't get down to the real stuff, but by some quirk they learned they were both well known poets and they were absolutely delighted to finally meet the other and share some of the magic that comes from that. It was one of those life lessons, that they almost missed it, they were being so busy being modest and careful and ordinary.