Joan Didion | Play It As It Lays | 1970

Dear Maria,

The other day I was out driving in the desert and saw a snake and thought of you. More to the point: I saw the snake, and pulled my car over to the side of the road and watched it, and for a moment I imagined that the snake was thinking of you. I read your story last year. You are older than I am, but I am at the age you were when you had your trouble, and so much of what you went through, I went through: the sex, the drugs, the alcohol. I'm proud of none of it, though some of it has been exciting. Mostly my life has been like a movie I've been watching, hoping that it ends well. I drove away and left the snake there by the side of the road. I'm guessing it's still there.

Sincerely,
Paula