Ben,

This morning I awoke at around 7 and got out of bed, stretching yawning. I threw my bathing suit and a towel in my backpack and strolled down the street to the YMCA and took my morning laps. As I walked home, way more tired than I should be, I thought, “My body is the temple of the Holy Spirit” and then VERY NEARLY got a bacon, egg and cheese on a long roll from the 49 Stop. We’re in the shaky early stages here of a phenomenon I call “Healthy Charlie”. This is day two in a row of me waking up before work and taking a swim, and I’m loving it, but it could go either way.

You missed a pretty damn busy couple of weeks, old friend. I’ll just tell you its component parts and let you fill in the gaps: aerialist, prenup, Ringling Bros., novel, YMCA, auto mechanic, skateboard. Curious to hear how close your interpretation of theses people/events/vehicles gets to reality.

It’s getting dark so soon these days, friend. But I still feel pretty good. I think this winter’s gonna be okay. On Sunday, we’ll destroy that infernal time machine. On Sunday, we’ll put a glorious summer to rest.

-Charlie