Molly Kaufman and I are visiting friends in Lodi, New York, which is on Seneca Lake. We are staying in a small cabin with a deck that hangs over the lake. This morning I made a rather perfect cup of Peets coffee and sat on the deck with my laptop. Molly brought her laptop and coffee to the deck and we did some work, while also scrolling the New York Times, and answering a few emails. It was the kind of summer moment that one remembers all winter. The dock -- like a hotel balcony in Johannesburg overlooking Grant Street -- struck me as the perfect place to sit and write a book.
