E T T Y - Q U E T T E

I am not much of a list-writer, mostly because when I do write lists, I write on pieces of paper that are almost invariably lost as soon as the ink hits the paper, only to reappear years later in some coat pocket or the bottom of my purse, crumpled and thin, the words worn off from rubbing against camera, wallet, other bits of paper, pens, loose change, scotch tape, lock deicer: "..pinach," DOG FOO," -email Ka..." Bits of long ago that have lost all meaning, their lingering sense of urgency now a bit of an embarrassment. Still, a list is a reassuring thing. It suggests order, a plan, a person with a plan, someone who's in charge, and on the sixth day..... I have not studied the issue sufficiently, but I suspect that most of us write more lists when we feel least in control of our world. Just the creation of the list, putting those sequential numbers one below the other, or letting those bullets give weight to the words that follow feels therapeutic. I am