Lists–for when you’re too lazy to paragraph, or when no narratives emerge, or when hellishness forces you to look closely, like you always should.

THINGS THAT MADE LIFE WORTH LIVING YESTERDAY

1 ) Sitting in a car in the rain, waiting with sanitizer poised for Nicole to return with our groceries, listening to the solid beats and rhymes of a 40-year-old man I last saw when he sat in my classroom when he was 15

2 ) Reading comic book stories of Luba and her family, created by Gilbert Hernandez.

3 ) Sitting across the table from Nicole, just talking.

4 ) Chasing a kitten up a cat tower.

5 ) Watching a kid score 23 points in an NBA Bubble Game whom we saw play in Battle High School Gymnasium when he was 16.

6 ) Opening the mailbox and finding a very compassionate note from good friends and a 45 from International Anthem Records that one of those friends would have loved.

7 ) Half-napping and listening to The Mamas and The Papas (and The Wrecking Crew) on headphones.

8 ) Eating a decent shrimp poboy and fries from Cajun Crab Shack, with Wickles Pickles subbed in for their quotidian ones. Who likes quotidian pickles, I ask you?

9 ) Sipping a fresh peach daiquiri and watching City Lights and Modern Times on Turner Classic Movies.

10 ) Sharing satisfactions and regrets with my betrothed before we lapsed into sleep.

Streaming for Survivors:

One of the first albums I ever mail-ordered, and it’s still potent. Thank you, Trouser Press.