and the fog, and then the eye catches a glimpse of some-thing solid, or large and quite lovely behind and within the cloud. The shapes start to appear, and the patterns on the buildings themselves become apparent. The shades of the structures, their lighter or darker contrasting colors against the light morning mist of fog becomes a transformation of a visible glory that is just a small city, somehow reachable very soon across the water. God is residing in the morning light of the new day, bringing a hope to man’s edifice by painterly scene and the dawn of the day. I do enjoy this approach by water in the early morning as the ferry brings us all to our civil destination in safety and comfort. It is a thankful trip, and a peaceful one.” Royalties From A Book I still receive royalties from a book I edited written by Dave Barry titled “Bad Habits”. At one time I was the editor of a newspaper syndicate and Mr. Barry wrote a humor column, and the book is a compilation of those columns. I have worked in retail sales, including Sears where I sold electronics, televisions, and computers. I also worked at Malm Luggage in Strawberry Shopping Center. During one recent Christmas, I worked at Macy’s and sold fine watches. Some worth thousands of dollars. There are many beautiful time pieces for wearing on the wrist. A Letter To A Friend In August 1999 I wrote a letter to a friend in San Anselmo who is a rare book dealer who works out of his home. His is a rewarding life. I told him about some missing books of mine that were “stolen.” We call this the mystery of the missing books and we would like to find them. This is an excerpt from a letter I wrote him about the books. Note that the part about William Whitworth of The Atlantic is truncated for privacy purposes, and so the same about Mr. Lapham, (Lewis) of Harper’s magazine. Of the two, I think that you’ll see Lewis writes with a pen, and Mr. Whitworth (Bill) uses a pencil. This is interesting about what a signature tell us of the character of a man. “Fortunes Child” by Lewis Lapham is inscribed by the author in black pen (the same kind he signs all his letters with and where he signs with his middle initial). The books were a gift to me as his reader, a contributing to the magazine during its difficult and transitional years from previous ownership and management by the old “Life magazine” and “The Saturday Evening Post” group to the new owner Mr. MacArthur, the giver of prize money to people deserving a million dollars. Lewis sent me the hardbacks because at that time I was an editor of his and he knew I would like to send some copies to other editors (at newspapers, primarily) in the United States. That is how I came to have so many copies of the book, obviously a favorite work of Mr. Lapham’s. Of course, one or two were my own and I do miss those as well as the others since they are simply a complete loss to me. Lewis had to go to a lot of trouble to send me those books. He has a very interesting signature. I think a handwriting expert would find his signature by dark and piercing black fountain ink something to study, and for those fortune tellers interested in knowing the personality and character that is revealed by the hand, Lewis’ is a study in intellectual nobility and crafted aesthetic born of the editor’s discipline. You can see it in the (CAPTION) The ocean fog rolls past the Golden Gate Bridge on into San Francisco Bay. Photo: Rick White ©2004