Category Archives: Riffing

Gateway (drugs)

People sometimes call alcohol a drug, especially in the hands of those who tend towards an addiction. For the sad lovers in Days of Wine and Roses, alcohol is not just a drug but seriously dangerous.

For most of us, it’s a beverage before, during, or after dinner.

Now that marijuana is legal, I have declassified its status as a drug. I won’t bore you with my last use of pot nearly a half-century ago.

It’s been ages, at any rate, since weed was hysterically labeled a gateway to major addiction like heroin. And to answer the unasked question in the ‘graph above, no, I did not develop a habit.

My friend D stopped for a visit bearing no less a goody than Kedem Sparkling Grape Juice.

All morning, I have been grappling with whether to consider this a gateway to wine or more exotically to Champagne 🍾 🤔.

Tango

I am kind of over the moon over dance, dancers, and dancing. My passion covers all genres from the à gogo to the ballet to zumba. My affection for the Iberian-inflected dances like Flamenco and Tango is extreme.

Truth is The Tango, that great dance of love, originates in Argentina, not in Spain.

If Tango is seen as romantic, Flamenco can be sexy but edgier. And I have no idea what prompted me to include à gogo in my list, but it too is pretty provocative.

The ballet engaged my interest from an early age. I came to appreciate ballroom dancing later.

Of course, all of the dance, except the zumba, for me is basically a spectator sport. For instance, I always loved watching all sorts of ballet but hated ballet lessons.

En_joy_ment

What are 5 everyday things that bring you happiness?

Happiness is fleeting, and it is also enduring. Ordinary things can be so satisfying that they bring on smiles.

When I smile, it is in gratitude for the small things.

To all the crocuses that peak out to commemorate the spring, I say thank you.

Hey, it’s a bright sunny day! Wow, that drizzling rain just feels so good.

Did you notice how adorable that hat looks on that little fella over there?

And fifth but not least, let’s be grateful for a well-toasted bialy. For today.

The object of our affection

What animals make the best/worst pets?

Creepy crawlies seem to appeal to some. Perhaps you’ve walked in the park and seen the pet-owner embraced by a rather large snake.

I cringed just writing this description. I guess that answers the “worst pets” part of the query. At least in part.

Rats, I read just this past week, are very affectionate. Not buying it. They fit my definition of creepies.

Now, what -or who- is the ideal pet? With whom do I want to share my home?

Wet noses and button eyes are very seductive, as is that head tilted quizzically sidewise.

Little dogs can be adorable but they are also frequently yappy. My favorite would be a pup who grew to 30 or 40 lbs.

I like a longish waggable tail, as well. It’s how your pet will tell his tale of happiness.

Let’s face it, we offer them so much of our affection, we want them to welcome us. A wag says “hi, so nice to see you.”

In honor of the April fool

The fool, if memory serves, was a foil for the foibles of a monarch. At least, that was the case in Shakespeare’s liturgy.

The jester, in jest, could shout truth to power. The King, since it is his fool speaking, is not offended.

when thou clovest thy crown i’ th’ middle and gav’st away both parts…thou hads’t little wit in thy bald crown when thou gav’st thy golden one away.

See King Lear, Act 1 Scene 4.

Fools made mockery of great men. The Bard’s Fools told it like it was.

Although this post foolisly lags behind the day it is meant to commemorate, it carries the spirit of a beau jeste. Laugh on and be merry. Or, as Donald O’Connor danced and sang it, “Be a clown.”

I did not know this

What’s something most people don’t understand?

Yang Bing-yi opened a modest shop in Taiwan in 1958. He built it into a dumpling and noodle empire, earning a Michelin star and introducing the soup dumpling to a global audience. Yang died at 96.

NYT Good Morning read

Understanding is different from knowledge. There are many things – way too many- I and you and you don’t know. If we did, or when they came to our attention, we would know them and understand them.

So now I know about Yang’s culinary contribution and appreciate his accomplishments.

I still don’t understand how you get the soup to stay in the dumpling.

Do you?

A great big word

How often do you say “no” to things that would interfere with your goals?

“No” is one of the biggest words in the English lexicon.

For many of us, it is also very hard to freely express. In my case, it’s taken decades to make the case to just say no.

The impediment to saying no is the desire to be agreeable. “Go along to get along” is the meme that makes it so much easier to just say yes.

Happily there are rewards for those who stick to their guns and act in their own best interests.

It often pays to say no and let the chips fall as they will.

Weather or not

What is your favorite type of weather?

Why is the weather always everyone’s go-to small talk? Is it the only neutral topic for your office elevator ride?

My theory about our fascination with weather is that there is a climatologist manque in each of us.

Not for nothing that Groundhog Day – the film and actually Feb 2- is such a vibrant theme in our lives.

We admire the ability at prediction even if we deride the result. “Wouldn’t you know it? Didn’t need the umbrella today.”

Speaking of umbrellas, I always refuse to or forget to carry one.

It’s not only because I love the rain. It’s also because umbrellas are annoying. And I find the rain purifying.

Booming

The Era holds fond memories.

Despite the turmoil we all felt and experienced, the sixties were a time of hope. For many of us, they were a chance to bring the America we loved to its full potential.

Social justice was a goal within reach. Equality and righted wrongs were an ideal to which we could aspire.

The sixties were an opportunity to be our best. Or at least better.