Scott Nichols LETTER FROM SOPHIE TO HER ROOMMATE IN ALTADENA I. Fear makes faith meaningless. Last night it was raining and I almost got hit by a car walking down Lake Ave. It was almost funny, I fumbled on a snail's slippery slick and fell down. And then, if I remember right, Jesus knelt down behind me, blessed me in the state I was in and told me the story of El Dorado. II. If you have trouble turning the stereo on while I'm gone, use the turntable instead. After a year and a half in Pasadena you'd become a fascist too. Simple. Talk to Geneva about that much when she gets in, she's dropped more than enough bullets on my head, more than me, and as you know, she doesn't have my conniving ear. III. In El Dorado, when it rains, the sky seems bluer than I can tell you. In Pasadena, when it rains, there's always an ambulance knotting up the corner at Colorado and Delacey, and the windows rattle in every building so no one feels like looking out. IV. Or does it really rain in El Dorado at all? Check my notes then, later. That and not much else. You've been here, you know. 6.2.99 pasadena-altadena, CA