“I think we should get married and have babies.”

“Okay.”

“And live in a tiny apartment in the middle of an awesome little city somewhere, and I will have horses.”

“Sounds good.”

“And you can work for Silicon Valley startups, and we’ll make friends with a bunch of people who build killer robots for fun.”

Laughter.

“I know, I know, that’s just asking for TOO MUCH…”

I can’t remember if I mentioned this at the time, but it was watching Gilbert enjoy himself at Jeremy’s fortieth birthday party up at the Big Yellow House that revealed to me the secret of a happy life, which is to have friends you unreservedly like and then to play games with them. Since Salome has been teaching and riding at Sun Valley, she’s taken to calling me with reports of her rides, as I not infrequently give her reports of mine. We spent a long time today discussing natural horsemanship and in what contexts it is awesome and in what contexts it is bogus and arguably a tool of the patriarchy, and the horses available to her and which of these might best meet her riding goals, and indeed, what exactly those goals might be.

I was just thinking how lucky I am to have a friend who shares my most arcane and indefensible passion, when she said: “I am so glad to have you to talk to about all this, because you get it.”

I said: “I don’t think I tell you often enough how much I like you.”

She laughed. “You tell me every time we talk to each other that you love me.”

“Yes, but I love you and like you, and that’s so rare!”

Raena Lamont for President, 2036.

“This election marks a moment in which the racial and social hierarchy of America is upended forever. No longer will it mean more politically to be a white male than to be anything else.”

There will be twenty women in the next US Senate. Twenty women. And at least one of them is a staggering badass.

Gay, straight: it’s all the same love.

Beautiful.

Rachel Maddow is perfect. The end.

NAJAH encounters a young fellow of similar age who is also dressed as the SPIDER-MAN.

ME, joyfully: Spiders-men!

YOUNG FELLOW OF SIMILAR AGE: You scary?

NAJAH shakes his head.

YFOSA: No. Spider-man no scary!

*

CLAIRE: I’m not a cat. I’m a werewolf. I’m a werewolf! I’m not a cat! I’m not a cat, I’m a wolf.

*

ME, accompanying JULIA across a particularly terrifying front yard: There’s a severed limb! There’s another one! Tombstones! A giant rat! Are these demons guarding the door? OH MY GOD THERE ARE PEOPLE IN THERE WATCHING ‘HOME IMPROVEMENT.’ AAAARG NOW TIM ALLEN IS ON!

JACK: Hush.

ME: At least it wasn’t Shatner.

*

ADA: That lady said that my costume was “very creative.” It was either a compliment… OR AN INSULT.

*

DANNY: I’m afraid Ada’s Nefertiti hat will fill up with rain.

JEREMY: She should fill it up with candy.

ME: It’s the inundation of the Nile.