Prologue: Help!

There are a million other things I can picture myself doing right now. They come like locusts into my mind: I could remain here, watching The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly, I could be riding a horse, I could be filling a pitcher with water, I could be playing softball in the park, I could be polishing brass, I could be fixing a lamp. I could be doing any of these things: that is the miracle of having an imagination – the possibilities are endless. The problem with it all is that actually, there is only ONE thing I will be doing for certain: at 6:00, I will go to the Doddses for dinner.

I am sure the Doddses are nice people. I am sure all of their friends are equally nice people. I am sure that I am a nice person. Alexis tells me that there will be no worm eating, but you didn’t say anything about the pig’s blood. God, what about the pig’s blood?!