The following is a work of fiction.

Not Nick Nolte's Diary, Malibu, California
October 23, 2004

Draining

It's seemed like October forever. It will be nice to have Halloween in the bag for another nine months or so. The holidays seem to start earlier and earlier each year. I won't write about Manolo's behavior last night because I never break a promise and also because Manolo is the only man who can unjam my blenders. I mean that literally, diary, just to clarify. Anyhoo, I caught Pete the tree guy in the billiards room, watching my copy of The French Connection. Or it could have been the sequel. He told me he was draining some sap and it took time. I silently assumed he was talking about the Oak and made up a story about finding some old claim tickets from a photomat that were about to expire in order to get out of the room.