The fruit store near my house had, as of today, pumpkins! Big ones and little ones. It's pumpkin time.

At my writers' group meeting tonight, more than twenty minutes were spent recounting various Ali G episodes because someone brought up Ali G. At least five episodes were recounted, in proper accents. I sat there stone faced. It's not that I don't have a sense of humor. It's just - didn't Stuttering John do all this stuff ten years ago? He was asking serious people stupid questions long ago. He asked that Reagan impersonator, Jim Morris, what it was like to be with the Doors. Is it funnier with a lame accent?

Ali G, Tom Green....ZIERING.

I brought some of the beginning of my new novel to the group - part of the 15 pages that I've revised like 60 times in three years. Yes, I am STILL revising those 15 pages. The group didn't hate it or find it glaringly unreal. So that was good news. I think I'm done revising it for now. (Emphasis on "for now.")

Another topic of discussion at the group was whether to give money to homeless people. Two people said that they don't want to give to alcoholics. My feeling is, why is it ok for wealthy people to get themselves sauced, whereas homeless people, whose life sucks and actually have a good reason to get plastered, aren't allowed to? If they really are alcoholics (and how do you know?) they're going to drink anyway, so give them a buck and maybe they can eat, too. If you think I'm being funny, I'm not. Who are we to judge the lives of someone who lives on the street? I know you can't give to everyone. But don't kid yourself into thinking you're doing them a favor by withholding the money. They ask for it because they need it. Even if it doesn't turn their situation around. Even if you don't approve of what they're using it for. Maybe it will make them feel better for an hour. We all use money to do that for ourselves, don't we?

Finally, a guy at the writing group said that recently, he had a dream that his book got published. "And when you woke up," I said, "Did you say, 'Oh damn'?"