AUSTIN, Texas, Nov. 16 — Remembering that this in my commonplace book, my spot for vignettes for other writing, I received an e-mail from my friend who lives in the Cape area of South Africa talking about a seventy-seven-year-old woman who went for a swim and got taken by a shark. No body has been found.

AUSTIN, Texas, Nov. 13 — The other day I saw a big burly man in a lumberjack shirt and a cap who was not so much driving as wearing a little red sports car.

AUSTIN, Texas, Nov. 4 — There is that casualness of taking off a jacket or sweatshirt and tying it around your waist.

The secret to being really cool and living in cool surroundings is not just having money but having enough to try things and descard them. Having the courage to throw things out or get rid of them if they aren't suitable after all.

AUSTIN, Texas, Nov. 2 — Read some of my friend's crime novel. Gotta respect anyone who gets this much of anything actually written.

AUSTIN, Texas, Nov. 1 — Received a huge manuscript of a crime novel from a friend. FFP says he needs to be more terse. I haven't started reading it. I'm so jealous of anyone who can write anything.