Introducing my official muse, never before photographed, shown or seen by anyone but me. Even Maria didn’t know what it was until I told her today. I got my muse nearly 20 years ago at a gypsy shop near New York City. He looks like something out of Maurice Sendak, but is not. He is a thumb-sucker and has always graced the table near my computer. He has inspired me through more than 20 books and I lost him somewhere in the move from Bedlam Farm to the New Bedlam Farm. Today, upstairs vacuuming in the old guest bedroom where Rose used to look out the windows and sleep, I found him, inside of a dresser drawer. I just thought he was lost.

I am superstitious about muses, I believe in them, I have graced this one with a number of pins – my Thomas Paine pin, my ‘”Everyone is Pleased Button,” a sardonic button we wore at CBS News, where no one was ever pleased. And my Buddy Holly button, in his memory. I think he has the right persona for a muse, part troll and part ghoul, I think. I’m not sure what he is, but he is back on the table where I write, where he ought to be. Thought I should share. He pre-dates Facebook by a good number of years but has always worked around computers.