Trying to decide what to write about, I saw that John Waters' "Pecker" will be coming to our local movie theater. This reminded me of a short story he wrote called "101 Things I Love." I thought I would give my condensed version. So here are "21 Things I Love" from a typical fall morning in Billsville, with apologies to Mr. Waters.

I wake up in my bed (1). I look around my room (2) and say good morning to Snake Plisskin. He's the character from the "Escape from... " movies (3). I have a poster of "Escape from LA" on my wall. It's particularly meaningful to me, because that's what I did almost a year ago. I look out my window. It's fall (4), and the leaves (5) are turning beautiful colors. This makes me happy. I pass through the sitting room and go downstairs. I'm greeted by my cat Sebastian (6). She is waiting for me. We race each other down the stairs (she wins) and I fix breakfast. Sebastian has sliced chicken and turkey and I have some cereal (7), some tea (8) and orange juice (9).

I check the weather every morning. I skip the annoying morning news shows and go straight to The Weather Channel (10). No cutesy banter, just the facts. Mission accomplished. I get ready for work. I say goodbye to my parents (11) and head out. I live down the street from the office, so I won't be driving. There's nothing like a walk in the morning (12). The air (13) is crisp and clean. That's one great thing about living in a small town (14). I pass a couple of houses on my way to work. They are covered with Halloween decorations (15).

I arrive at Tripod (16). This is the first job I've had where I like what I do and I like the people I work with. This is a good thing. And I'm not just saying that. I grab a free Diet Pepsi (17) and sit down at my desk. I look at the pictures I've put up. Hello Spice Girls (18) and Beck (19). How are YOU, Princess Leia (20)? I turn on my computer. There's my Kiss mouse pad (21) — good morning, boys! I am ready to face another day!

Your faithful receptionist, Jenny, (10/16/98)