Good running into you at the festival, Bella. Actually, you gave me the nudge I needed to come today. Until I read your comment, I didn’t notice Rick was speaking on Saturday and Sunday, and it felt oddly appropriate that he was speaking on Palm Sunday, of all days. I made a few small adjustments and was able to attend.

Consequently, I attended my first Mass at St. Louis Cathedral. I’m not Catholic, but it was a stirring service.

Regarding additional appearances of the number 23, Rick spoke at 2:30 on Saturday, and Roy Blount Jr. mentioned the number in the panel with Rick today. The fortune teller to whom I apologized today for slighting on Friday (I felt angry when I perceived that she was trying to manipulate me, which might not have been the case) told me that she started reading cards when she was 23. The first story of the Clarion Herald I picked up inside of St. Louis mentioned that Bishop-elect Fernand Joseph Cheri III had his Ordination on March 23rd. Lastly, the festival ended today with the Stella and Stanley shouting contest. In reading up on that I discovered that last year’s contest fell on March 23rd.

Well that’s enough about the number for a while, but lately it has been showing up at a much higher rate than usual, which is, at the very least, peculiar.

To look at the broader picture, things didn’t go exactly as hoped, which is not unusual for me. I got a flat tire thanks to a nail on the road, for example. Then a certain song came on the radio after AAA came to swap out the tire for the flat, and that might have influenced what I did later, although I didn’t consider the possibility at the time. Still, even though things didn’t go exactly as planned, it is possible that things happened as intended, but it is also possible that something got scrambled along the way. Hard to tell in such cases.

Curiouser and curiouser, as they say.

If I can shake these allergies, I will be there. He’s doing a humor writing symposium with Roy Blount Jr. and Amy Dickinson on Sunday. Most of what I write is humor.

Thanks for stopping by, Bella. That’s a terrific story about Rick. Speaking of festival, he’s going to be at the Tennessee Williams festival this weekend, but I can’t make it to his talk.