I just finished Sarah Vowell’s collection of essays, “The Partly Cloudy Patriot”, while sitting at my living room window. Big snowflakes drifted heavily outside, most of them struggling to gain a foothold before melting into the pavement. It’s typical western Washington snow, more annoying than anything else — as opposed to being fun or dangerous.

Sarah Vowell has kind of turned into an idol of mine, though I must somehow look past her statement that she prefers Thomas Jefferson to George Washington. Perhaps she has atoned for that in the fifteen years that have elapsed since this book was published. Actually I am rather worried for her mental state these past few months; I hope she’s doing okay.