You were on board all along.

Lynn,

LOL! That’s right! Umm…you mean you didn’t get your cut of the check? I’m sure I mailed that…

And Joe??? Oh my gosh!!!!!!!!!!!! LOVE this! Wow! Can I hop aboard your vision? Please? Great one!

Hang on a sec –

Sigh. That was National Geographic again. Had to tell them to quit calling. I mean, it was nice of them to loan me all that Canon photo gear, but come on. They’ve already accepted sixty shots. Give the other guys a chance, won’t ya?

Truth is, I kind of see their point. We didn’t MEAN to wander into those ruins. We thought it was part of the tourist route. Had no idea they’d rewrite history, or that due to local cultural traditions, we’re the only non-native folk they’ll allow inside. Ever.

I’m still not sure what we’re doing with all the artifacts they gave us.

Ugh. Phone’s buzzing…the Louvre, again. Make one little donation and the joint thinks it owns you. Say, have any idea how much a guy’s supposed to charge for a speaker’s fee?

No worries. I’ll ask the new agent. When his phone stops ringing.

Better run. I’ve got that marathon coming up and need to train yet today. Since Armstrong decided to give it a go, I think he’ll be pushing me on the final five. Biggest mistake of my life (Sure, Lance, I’ll bike with you this week. No, not next week. I’m running. Got a gig in Boston I’m prepping for. Need to defend the record.) That’ll teach me to keep my mouth shut.

We’ll be out east Saturday for the college tours, and than that book thing they talked me into. Kids are still torn between Harvard and Yale. Both made pretty good offers.

P.S. — You’re coming to the signing and after-party, right? Personally, I felt 2 million copies was a bit much for the first print run. But I guess the gang at Penguin knows their stuff. I need clothes. Bet you do, too.

Only stipulation is, no earth tones. Harrison is supposed to be at our table, and anything vaguely Indy makes him feel self-conscious. I sent him my novelization of the next Indy flick, like you suggested, and he loved it. Said he wished they’d had this material after Raiders.

Anyway, call me and we’ll go shopping. My treat.

Good thing MasterCard just removed my limit!

Reality-wise, I would still be working five years from now, but hopefully at a better job.

So in five years, financially stable, writing full time with health insurance, A house of my own, with a writing room filled with walls of ceiling to floor bookshelves.

Me? I’d have a small cottage on a beach somewhere. My writing room would have big windows that face the ocean and those long white billowy curtains. I’d start each morning off with a walk on the beach, eat my breakfast on the porch (that also overlooks the ocean) and then write until mid-day. Although this is future time, my kids would still be the ages they are now so they could live with me. And every afternoon, after the writing and school stuff was done, we’d hang on the beach–flying kites, swimming, walking, dreaming, whatever…

Oh, and I’d only have to write one book a year.

More realistically, I’d be writing full time, both kids in college with no worries about getting it paid for, out of debt, and living some place warm.