Earlier tonight, while on the phone with American Molly in San Francisco, I received a series of frantic texts from my new friend Firuza, The Azerbaijan Girl. She had exciting news for me:

I told Molly I thought Firuza had perhaps meant “snowball fight”, and that I needed to check my balcony . . . I needed to confirm Firuza wasn’t pulling my leg. Lo and behold, beneath a full-moon’d sky, there it was . . . freshly fallen snow on a cold winter night in Berlin:

Said I to Molly: “Wow! She weren’t kidding!”

Back inside the warm glow of my apartment here in my high tower in Schöneberg, we proceeded to talk for another hour. I asked her some questions about a particular topic I ought not mention here. It’s nothing bad! Just sensitive I reckon. Anyway, she made me feel much better about a lot of things. I said good-night and she said good-night, and we agreed once again to be friends till our dying day. Regretfully, I was not able to join Firuza for a snowfight . . . maybe next time . . .

And now: sweet dreams to all my little star children in Starland . . . ☆彡