Pragmatic decision

As a shopper, I go to certain grocery stores for certain items. For espresso coffee beans, it's Schnucks (Papa Nicholas brand). For peanut butter, naturally it's Krogers. But for hardback books, in the future, it'll be Save-A-Lot, where I bought a book called The Newsboys' Lodging House, or The Confessions of William James, a $24.95 book for $1! -- An award-winning novel about the seminal American philosopher-psychologist William James, the father of "Pragmatism" and Horatio Alger, father of the rags-to-riches novel, during the time of James' "lost months" in his thirties, when, driven by depression, he disappeared from public view, only to emerge from isolation months later with "a surer sense of self and a new clarity of purpose" (quoting the book jacket).

Lost in a digital snowstorm of data, I am inspired by James' famous essay Will to Believe to disappear from public view in this blog until Feb. 26 -- the day after the final Saluki home game vs. the Panthers of Northern Iowa (who play host to SIU on Monday night. Watch on WSIU-TV, Channel 8).

Without the distraction of writing (and rewriting) this blog, I'll have more time to read the novel; publish the "On the Square" newsletter in print; attend (or listen to) the six remaining Saluki home games; and work on the blook, so when you click on the link for Carbondale After Blog, chapter headings and samples will pop into view, plus an order form.