Bellow my Beating Heart

OK, so I'm reading Saul Bellow's collected stories for the first time. Now I see what all the fuss was about when he passed away. I've got to admit I missed many of the classics. (Hey, I went to public high school--in Florida, OK? Cut me some slack.) I'm about halfway through "What Kind of Day Did You Have" and it sustained me for four miles running on the treadmill yesterday. If I can forget about the fact that I'm on the treadmill, sweating my ass off, running a nine-minute mile, then I know I've found a literary keeper. It really is incredible how great writing transcends time and even history. The relationship in this story is as real and relatable as any of my own and my friends' relationships in 2005. I only hope that one day I can write a mere sentence that accomplishes such a feat. And the best part is that I picked it up for a measly $5 on a street cart outside my corner wine shop.