In addition to the enchantment with language and storytelling, there is the fact that I wouldn't know what the hell to do if I were not doing this. Some leisure is fine, but not an unrelieved diet of downtime. I'm also writing to ensure that our foundation--which focuses largely on organizations for the severely disabled, critically ill children, and dogs--will be deeply funded and able to support those organizations long after Gerda and I are gone.

In addition to the enchantment with language and storytelling, there is the fact that I wouldn't know what the hell to do if I were not doing this. Some leisure is fine, but not an unrelieved diet of downtime. I'm also writing to ensure that our foundation--which focuses largely on organizations for the severely disabled, critically ill children, and dogs--will be deeply funded and able to support those organizations long after Gerda and I are gone.