Three dollars and seventy-four cents is the amount of a check I received in the mail yesterday. This represents payment for a poem that was first accepted in February of 2002 and appeared in print April of this year. I didn't expect to receive any money -- the copy of the fine journal itself was a genuine reward. Not that I'll return the check.

Another rewarding experience yesterday, possibly also valued at close to four dollars: On the bus home from work the woman sitting right in front of me was gabbing away loudly on her cell phone. Then the man next to her started his own loud conversation on his phone. What to do? I gritted my teeth and let the babble join the current of things best ignored. Then the bus driver said "Excuse me, folks on their cell phones. The only person who should be heard by the whole bus is me." That shut them up, and brought appreciative laughter from the passengers. My seat-mate and I exchanged covert smiles.