Noah sits in his motel room. The television is off. It is 3:35 p.m. March 19th. Of any year. On the desk in front of him are his fine, brown leather notebook, and his fountain pen. Twice a year he writes in his notebook a list of 8 things that are good. These things are not necessarily good for him, or good to him, or good because of him. He just feels it's useful to identify things that are good. The list changes each season. Sometimes it serves as a guide to what he should try to achieve, as in "It is good to call that comedy club in Albuquerque even though the booker is a vinegary prick". Sometimes it is a list of things that would be good for the world at large, as in "It is good if someone turns warring nations into parking lots for peaceful nations." Sometimes it is a list of things that are just good, as in "It is good to be driving a 1951 Buick Roadmaster on a smooth road going anywhere other than where I am at this moment". His favorite time to examine is early Spring, when the weather can turn on itself in gloriously horrifying ways.