There are times when you wish you could blink, and thereby take a snapshot of your surroundings, your current situation. It would never work of course, even the best picture couldn’t capture the perspective, let alone the ambiance, the sounds, the feel, of where you are.

Right now I am content. I am sitting in front of a chessboard playing over a game between Pal Benko and Tigran Petrosian played in 1952. I look over and two dogs are curled up in opposite corners of the sofa, and another is on a dog bed by my side. Richard Shindell is playing on the stereo. It is one of those moments that I wish I could preserve forever, and pull it back whenever I need it.

I have a glass of scotch and water on the table, and I can’t think of anything I want more than sitting here as I am now. It’s not much, but it’s happy, and whole, and comfortable, and I wish it could last forever.