extraordinary kindness.

Hero of the Day: Pini, fantastic Pini, for going far beyond the call of duty. The office guy on the other end of the phone, who for days had been working to arrange delivery of my stuff after the aforementioned carelessness of the Chicago van line who told him I was in Gainesville Georgia (ASAP; remember and avoid). Though this delay was through no fault of his own, Pini - who also turns out to own the Atlanta-based Mars Van Lines - took it upon himself to rent a small truck from Enterprise, drive to Valdosta, load my things from the larger truck, drive to Gainesville Florida and unload everything by himself. On a Saturday no less, and in a thunderstorm. Pini, you are my hero. I was floored by the distance you went to help me out, dealing with a mess you weren't at fault for, because you knew I was miserable.

Heroes of the Rest of the Week (since The Day is taken): Dan, Sandra, and Ryan, for making Saturday even better. Dan, a property manager for many of the apartment communities in Gainesville, heard of my plight and volunteered to bring me furniture out of the excess supply they were getting rid of. As Pini carried the last things in, these three showed up with a trailer holding a matching bedroom set (full bed, headboard, dresser, night stand) and dining room set, carried them in and put everything together. I've done nothing to receive such generosity and could give little more back than water and Coke, but I'm very grateful. You all made my good day a great one, and thanks to you I slept like a baby that first night in my apartment.

Heroes of Last Week: Ali and Lisa, lovely classmates who took me in. These girls gave me a place to stay, a shower and towels, cereal to eat, a giant air mattress, and best of all good company during a difficult first couple of nights in Florida. Thanks for covering me when you didn't even know me. Your hospitality made a world of difference in those first couple days.

Heroes for All Time: All the loved ones who picked up the phone for me the past week. Thanks for your patience, for listening, for taking the time to let me be heard and understood. And then for making me laugh and get over it.

Thanks to the remarkable thoughtfulness of these people, I finally have something resembling a home here. My jars of grains and spices are stacked in the kitchen window; my clothes are hanging in the closet. I'm still adjusting, but there are odd moments of goodness: tonight I rode my bike home from the movie theater under a spectacular lightning storm, and realized for the first time how much of the sky I can see here. You forget how expansive it is. And how good air smells when it's filled with the fragrance of plants and fresh grass. Mostly, I remembered (finally) that happiness doesn't have all that much to do with where you are. You make your own life good by seeing what there is to see, where you are. Although I maintain that beauty's still scarce at Wal-Mart. It's here. I'm willing to look for it.