Panic strikes me when I think about a sentence that isnt given the chance to live because I dont have a pen in my hand or am not sitting near enough to someone familiar to speak it to. Especially if its a particularly good sentence, a sentence with truth or beauty or humor or sadness to it. The best ones always take you by surprise. They sneak into your head while youre walking down the aisles at a supermarket, or flat-out assault you when youre at your grandmothers funeral, and you have to scramble to give the thought life before its gone forever. Cocktail napkins, palms, text messages sent to yourself.
