Vol. 391 No. 472

Hard to get the brain around it. I mean it’s 2020 --- and doesn’t that write itself so easily, flows right out of the fingers. You know what I want? To dance the Charleston, maybe wearing silk stockings and garters – well, no on the last part. I’ve got to watch YouTube for a Charleston refresher. As I mentioned last month, it’ll be great sport to see if there is a turn to the past. Turning now to the present --

THE SUPER BOWL

When I moved to San Francisco many eons ago, I had to sign a contract before I was allowed to enter stating I now HATED the Cowboys and will give every shout in my mouth to the 49ers. I signed. Here’s the problem: It’s been 50 years, folks, since the Chiefs won a Super Bowl. And the 24-year-old quarterback, Pat Mahomes, not only is he a powerhouse, he’s surrounded with great players. This situation presents a real conscience bender (there’s no statute of imitations -- okay, limitations -- on the signed contract, plus the Kansas City Chiefs ain’t the COWBOYS). Here is my solution: Make a generous bowl of my BIG BANG guacamole and bring the outstandingly huge bag of COSTCO tortilla chips I bought (you pass those horse-sized brown tortilla chip bags standing side-by-side – 50 pounds?). Then I’ll fall into a stupor watching the Super Bowl commercials. And what’s sort of cool about this is I’m guaranteed to be both happy and sad, no matter what the outcome. Football Zen.

BRIEF ATTEMPT TO SEDUCE YOU: (press remote if you want to skip)

l) On Feb 4^th, LABYRINTH is out in trade paperback (this means bigger than a regular paperback and so is easier to read.) Gorgeous cover, can be pre-ordered, as in RIGHT NOW.

2) DEADLOCK, the 24^TH FBI thriller, is up for pre-order as well. Take a gander at the cover. I’ll be posting an excerpt closer to publication, the end of July.

Meanwhile, back to my Charleston lessons (on YouTube). If you’re freezing your butt off, consider snuggling up to a COSTCO bag of tortilla chips.

Catherine