Q & A.

Q. Mr. Smith, how have you managed to have a half-decent evening in spite of the following:

-your beloved ferret Tim Finnegan having to go to the vet
-missing a night of work and not getting paid for it
-having to put drops in Mr. Finnegan's eye at bizarre hours
-barely having the money to cover the vet bills
-having a job you loathe, whether or not you're there
-forgetting you made dinner and then going out and paying for it
-not getting enough work done on your dad's book
?

A. Cigarettes, my good friends Dave, Sara, Shari, and Matt, and an internal wellspring of spiritual resilience. I'm like a Skara Brae ranger, pre-Ultima VII, minus the mantra and shrine action.

Q. That's- that's really it?

A. Well, writing and records never hurt, either, and I've enjoyed, so to speak, plenty of both this evening.

Q. What've you been writing?

A. More of my new novel.

Q. And listening to?

A. Ned's Atomic Dustbin, Blue Oyster Cult, and the new Celtic Frost and Katatonia records.

Q. How's Mr. Finnegan?

A. Fine, aside from his painful eye. I'm going to bayonet the shit out of things if his eye doesn't get better.

Q. Is there anything else you'd like to say?

A. I love you all. And I love my ferret buddies Tim Finnegan and Dr. Long Ghost no less than I love my fellow humans. All y'all take it easy.