More about Savage Beauty by Nancy Milford

Last night I dreamt it was raining. Seeking shelter, I visited the homes of various friends who told me they wouldn't let me stay. Couldn't I see the water was rising? No, their homes would surely be swamped by the rising waters, I would be much safer somewhere else, anywhere else, but in their homes. I was turned out into the rain, almost as though I was considered a cause or a curse of the deluge, thinking I would drown in the downpour long before I was lost in the flood.

( More about Vincent. )

P.S. I got another present in the mail yesterday, but I did not open it because a note on the outside said not to. I suppose it might be nice to still have some gifts when the day actually comes, but my attention keeps straying; what is in the box?