CALL ME SNAKE

[AUTHOR'S NOTE: I feel a little self-conscious ascribing the word "author" to myself, but what the heck. I am published, dammitall(sp?). My notes (quarterly update) have appeared once again in the alumni magazine from my college, an unnamed "small liberal arts college in New England." (I can hear the wheels turning from all the people out there trying to guess the identity of said institution. I'll try not to give any hints save for one: It's not a "mental institution," as they used to be called. Without further ado, here's my contribution to "Notes from alums" in the Winter 2005 issue of _____ magazine.....] Sorry if my prose seems more labored than usual, but I’m suffering from writer’s block–that age-old affliction–and am not myself these days. Which begs the question: If I’m not myself, who is? And more to the point, who am I if not myself? I have a lot of questions and few answers, which should put me in good stead for my upcoming appearance on Jeopardy! As for the writer’s block, not to worry. My healer is convinced the situation is temporary. I should be back in top form by the next issue of _____ magazine, assuming the potions work as promised. On another front, I am in close contact with several _____ (college) alums whose names I cannot divulge, as I promised to keep our associations strictly confidential. But rest assured, they’re all doing well and prospering. Except for the ones that are struggling and beset with various difficulties and hardships that I won’t go into here, as this is a forum for success stories like myself (which just may be the subject of my next entry, come to think of it). [SECOND AUTHOR'S NOTE: The last sentence did not appear in the published version of this "essay" (I don't think that's too exalted a term); I just added it here as an afterthought, against my better judgment...]