That is the kind of spare opener
he would have enjoyed. Obviously, I have a very different writing style. But
when famous writers die these days, the internet briefly fills with anecdotes
and life lessons in a really lovely sort of communal wake. And so it has been
the case with Elmore Leonard this week and through that I have picked up a few writing tips that I both never follow and will savagely paraphrase here. My
apologies to him on both counts.
Elmore Leonard said never open with the weather, but I don't
think he ever had a Friday night like the one we experienced tonight in
Manhattan. The air was crisp and clear, with only the barest hint of diaper. As the immortal bard Taylor Swift once opined, "It feels like a perfect night." And it does. Normally, in blazing winter and bitter summer,
I am a reluctant adventurer. But when the temperature and humidity are just
right, like dry bath water, I am not just encouraged to go out but I become the
encourager.
