Exhibit 16.20

Arkansas Recap

* No one asked me what kind of Coke I wanted. I was sad about this until they handed me plates full of fried chicken and green beans. Turns out they knew exactly what kind of Coke I wanted.

* Tyrone's students were fantastic. I've never seen such an enthusiastic writing community among undergraduates, and all of the work I heard was great, too. Ty has a good thing going there. In particular, I enjoyed talking with Robin, Adam, Rae, Sarah, Zora, Heather, and I'm sure several others whose names are slipping my mind. I got to hear a remarkably earnest conversation about Foucault. I wanted to hug all of the participants. I wanted to believe in something again.

* I was in the Memphis airport three times in one trip. How you ask? Well, it doesn't really matter but here's a hint: it ended with a 2.5-hour bus ride through eastern Arkansas at night, a trip I was actually fairly happy to take, in the end, as I enjoyed finishing the book I was reading. I'll talk about that sometime, maybe. I think I'm going to review the book, and I've actually already started (if by "started a review" I mean "began a self-involved collage essay." I might mean that. We'll see).

* Tyrone and Julee live in what was once a concrete factory. It is exactly as cool as it sounds.





* Lake Conway was scary and awesome and full of debate over the quality of Mitch's girlfriend.





* At the student reading we went to on Thursday night, they had a contest to give away some very impressive-looking cupcakes and I got to serve as guest judge. Basically, a description of a very pathetic character was read aloud--the man liked to hang out in bathrooms, as I recall--and the best name got to take home the cupcakes. I turned to Tyrone while everyone was writing their answers and whispered that I hoped someone submitted my name.

* Someone submitted my name. This made me very happy personally yet very sad for the girl who has to share my instincts. I never actually met the person (I don't think) but I imagine her also thinking it's a good idea to try to learn Japanese and to buy a new coat only once every eight years. I should warn her.

* Tyrone summed up my reading shtick so pointedly that I wanted to hate him, but he was just too right. He said I acted like a North Platte Woody Allen behind the podium. I still want to hate him for it, but instead I'm just going to focus on being a North Platte Kenneth Branagh at future readings.

* A lot of good people were also kind enough to let me enjoy their birthday/dance/sushi party on Friday night and not act at all creeped out when I sat down and started to read this book from their library while Beyonce played loudly in the background. I didn't want to do this, understand, but it really was fascinating. I was on page 17--right where Fukuzawa is describing how he used to help his mother crush a beggar's gnats with a rock--when I re-entered society to the sounds of Katy Perry, just as my man Yukichi would have wanted it.

* Tyrone pointed at where they...



* Thanks to T & J for hosting me and all of the students at Hendrix. I had a great time.