11/3: morning star

I take an apple to school on most days of the week. But I always cut it up at home first: when I had braces I couldn't bite into an apple directly, and though that was years ago, I got into the habit of always slicing apples. I make four vertical cuts around the core, and then, for sheer ritual's sake, I cut through the core horizontally so that I can see the seed-star inside--this I do because a friend in college did it. Every morning that seed-star makes me smile, and I tell myself, "Even if nothing else good happens today, I can always make this my good thing."