Point and Shoot, Florida (YU)--

Q: Why doesn't the local paper send a photographer out to WindMark Beach to take a picture of the old Highway 98 stopping in mid-surface, like the bridge leaving Seahaven in The Truman Show?

A: The property is posted. No trespassing. I was afraid a private security guard was going to come rolling up in a Hummer and confiscate my camera.

The woods are full of wardens.

I'd have to shoot Brenda in the head to prove I was a writer.

Our old William Tell routine.

Q: "The present writer...." That's no defense. That's proof of guilt.

A: You have answered your own question.

They only report what it's safe to report.

They are a trade press for whoever is taking out the ads in the paper.

Not outsiders. Not critics of the establishment.

It's a closed circle. Outsiders can't get in.

Q: The real outsider is the poet left out of the Outlaw Bible of American Poetry.

A: Their idea of a literary outlaw is Courtney Love.