Vegans and Vegetarians:

I wonder if they ever feel guilty when they contemplate the fact that they are MADE of meat.

I just discovered the most thirst-quenching drink ever

Boil 6 cups of water. Pour it into a juice container.

Drop 3 teabags into the hot water, as follows (some variation permitted. This is what I used):

1 Dry Desert Lime (Numi brand)
1 Green Tea
1 Wildberry Delight (Tetley)

Leave it for an hour. Then put it in the fridge (with the teabags still in it). Wait for a few hours, or overnight or whatever.

Pour yourself a glass when you're thirsty. You won't believe how good it tastes.

Roget's Thesaurus

I consider it a loss that most young people today will never have an opportunity to marvel at how intelligently and intuitively Roget constructed his thesaurus. I use, and am grateful for, the on-line one at thesaurus.com, even paying for the privilege to use it all year long, but I was looking at the actual book today and appreciating its creator anew. You can climb into Roget's Thesaurus and get satisfyingly tangled in the threads for hours.

Strolling

One more downside to tv ads: Now when I see a couple my age out for a walk, I think, "Oh, dear-- strolling. They should see a doctor."

Just Wondering

If the smell of burning toast is a sign that you are having a stroke, and you are making toast and it burns, and you have a stroke because you think you are having a stroke, would you fail to notice an important symptom -- namely, the smell of burning toast?

The Best

For me, there is nothing, nothing, nothing better in the world than the feeling I get when I complete the last revision to a piece of creative writing and the product pleases me. I've been writing for thirty years now, and the feeling of elation at this point never changes.

This is why I write.

The undoing of the media

On-line media report that Gordon Lightfoot is not dead, Simon Cowell is not engaged, Brangelina did not break up, and J.K.Rowling did not plagiarize. We have entered the era of de-newsing.

Valentine's Day 2010

What appealed to me most about Valentine's Day this year was the sight of so many slightly embarrassed looking young men walking along the streets and onto the subway carrying flowers wrapped in cellophane and paper.

The Subway: A Metaphor

The other day at Rosedale Station A Voice asked everyone to get off the subway quick quick quick as the train had to return south to the Royal York. The Voice said another train would be along shortly. The Voice said, "We are closing the doors. Please exit the train." Everyone got off quick quick quick. They closed the doors. A minute later, the doors opened again and the Voice said we could all get back on. We did, and we continued our journey.

Was this the new train they had promised us?

This is a metaphor for my life, I think. I just have to figure it out.

A perc from the phone company

My elderly aunt passed away on Tuesday. On Thursday, I cancelled my aunt's phone. The phone company guy completed the request, then said that he and his family would pray for my aunt's soul to make sure it got to heaven. I thanked him, and later remarked to my younger son, "It's amazing what you can get from your phone company these days." He replied, "I think it's part of a bundle.

Gaggles or giggles of girls

by which I mean the early-teen variety, and sometimes including boys as well, should not be allowed to gather in groups in coffee shops. Do these young people ("Oh, my GAWWDDD!!!" "Oh, my GAWD!" "OH. MY. GAWWD!!!") not realize that some of us have abandoned our cherished spots in libraries, where no one says "Hush" any more, and fled to Starbucks or The Second Cup to get our reading and our writing done?