I thought it would hurt. It did, but I liked it. I called up a friend who writes and asked for a hook-up.  He sent me in the direction of Tanya. Tanya and I made a deal. I girded myself for the experience of being edited.

Might not sound like a big deal to those of you who've had the experience, but I'll admit I was frightened. I imagined the feeling of having my deepest creative expressions quietly stepped on, a coarse file applied to my moments of sharpest wit. Would my editor appreciate some of my more esoteric gestures? Would she understand the way I slowly build to the point of a shtick by repeating it many times with tiny variations in detail? Would my editor get me?