There are worse places to be stuck in the rain than outside Jim Williams' house. Jim Williams, you may recall, was the protagonist of John Berendt's bestseller Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, known affectionately(?) here in Savannah as "The Book". This morning I was out for my Saturday morning walk, and I got as far as JW's elegant home, which fronts leafy Monterey Square, before the rain kicked into high gear.

Here I was, stuck in what I would call a peaceful thunderstorm, with Andrea Bocelli on the iPod and a wet U2 t-shirt, probably looking somewhat reminiscent of a giddy drowned rat. But what better place to be? As I walked the ten or so blocks back to the perpetual sunny disposition and high octane air conditioning of the Marshall House, I found myself playing a game of chicken with the water pouring out of the gutters and down the alleys, across the sidewalks, into the quiet morning streets, and thence into my Nike cross-trainers.

But it could be pouring buckets and I wouldn't mind. This place suits me wonderfully. If someone asked me to plan a city, I think this is how it would materialize. I am smitten with Savannah.

Y'all make sure to have a wonderful weekend.