For Whom the Bell Tolls

Posted on January 22, 2013 by Julie-Ann Baumer

I was kicking around Portsmouth late yesterday afternoon and the bell in North Church rang the hour.

The day had been windy and cold and the sky was preparing to spit snow.  The weather puppets had not agreed on their talking points about this pending frozen matter.  It was the kind of day when people start to give up on their New Year’s Resolutions because it’s easier to stay inside where it’s warm than to venture out to the gym or a snow-covered sidewalk.

Yes, it’s about that time.

Ringing bells are beautiful; they signal the hour, they call people to worship, they may announce a wedding, or even a death.  In some parts of the world, bell ringing is a masterful and mathematical art; Dorothy L. Sayers wrote a fascinating mystery about it in The Nine Tailors.  When I heard the bell toll five in Market Square, I thought of the title of Hemingway’s book and then remembered that Hemingway was quoting John Donne.

John Donne, of another age, wrote a collection of devotions in 1624; he wrote these while recovering from an illness.  During his time of sickness, he heard the death knell and began to meditate on his own health and possible death.  When someone suggests “no man is an island” and “there’s no ‘I’ in team” they’re echoing John Donne’s sick bed.  One analysis of the meditation suggests that Donne was alluding to the uncertain nature of life and death and the importance of having one’s papers in order.  Although any of these brief phrases greatly oversimplify Donne’s work, how easy it is to think there will always be time to attend to the important things of life…tomorrow.

What are the important things of life?  They are different for everyone.  (I know, you thought I would tell you, didn’t you?)

You can read the meditation in its entirety and decide for yourself.

The bell tolls for me and I need to continue with my plans.  Monday was not the day to give up.

Tick tock, ding, dong. 

Posted in Weather and Seasons | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on For Whom the Bell Tolls

Heroes, Idols, and Worshipped Things

Posted on January 21, 2013 by Julie-Ann Baumer

It’s a sad day here in New England.  One of the teams we worship, the New England Patriots, came up short last night in a football game.  I listened on the radio; I didn’t care for the national broadcasters.  I prefer Gil Santos and Scott Zolak and I couldn’t pick up the station carrying their voices.

The New England Patriots have been coming up short ever since I started following them in 2006, the year I realized I could spend more time at Motel Four if I had a date to watch football with my father.  The Patriots won the Super Bowl in 2005.  Is it my fault the Patriots keep losing in the post-season?  I don’t think so, because if it were my fault, it would imply I had some type of magical power that could influence events without even being present at Gillette Stadium.

I have never played football and I don’t understand any of the intricacies of the game.  It’s all just a big life metaphor for me, surrounded by personalities and voices.  I rely on experts to tell me the technical details.  My observation of the facts and my “gut” told me that it was going to be a tough game for the Patriots, but as I listened to WEEI this week, none of the talking personalities seemed to have that same “gut” feeling.  These yacking “fan boyz” know the game and they fanned the flames of victory all week.  When everyone around believes in magic, it’s easy to believe in magic.

I believed in magic last night instead of my gut.

I fell asleep on the couch, listening to the game.  When I woke up and checked my phone, I had two text messages from my friend SK.  She understands the game much better than I do.  I confessed my slumbers and lack of Patriots’ attention and she texted “not a good night in New England.  They played like crap.”

Reggie Black concurred; he said “this wasn’t a very strong Pats team.  I’m surprised they made it this far.  Ravens are a strong defense, even if old.”

Poof…the end of the Patriots’ season.

Much of what passes as “modern life” is just sound and fury, signifying nothing.  Many of the people, places, and things I worship and idolize are mere mortal people, places, and things.  Sometimes, these idols of mine are people who have been immortalized by time, nostalgia, and a retelling of history.  Sometimes, these idols of mine are my family and friends.

King Solomon wrote about all of this almost 3,000 years ago.  He said “the sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose.” (Ecclesiastes 1:5, KJV)

There is no new thing under the sun.  Let’s pick our heroes and idols wisely.

Posted in Back to School, Weather and Seasons | Tagged , , , , , , | 7 Comments

The First Opera of 2013

Posted on January 20, 2013 by Julie-Ann Baumer

I jetted up to Maine yesterday for a “Live in HD” presentation of Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda.  I got caught up with fellow opera fan and friend Faye.  I love how the broadcast starts, with a view of the orchestra pit and the sound of the backstage announcer saying “Maestro to the pit, please; Maestro to the pit.”

The opera was intense; an elaborate tale of the doomed Mary, Queen of Scots.  We were crying midway through the second act.  Passion, anger, beauty, sadness, and death are all common themes at the opera.

Meanwhile, back in Lisbon Falls, the Christmas lights are still on at The Gazebo.

When I got back to The Coop, I had a message from Faye.  She said they need someone to take care of the gardens around The Gazebo.

I’d better get some rest this winter because taking care of that garden sounds like just the kind of opera I love.

“Aunt Tomato, to The Gazebo please; Aunt Tomato to The Gazebo.”       

Posted in Today We Rest | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Bloggernot, Part Two

Posted on January 18, 2013 by Julie-Ann Baumer

Last Friday, I suggested five reasons why a person might want to write a blog.  Did any of my readers rush out and start a blog?  Please let me know if you did and “congratulations.”  Blogging is not for everyone and I’ve even had people tell me “THE PERSONAL BLOG IS DEAD.”  That may very well be true.  If this is the case and the collapse of blogging is imminent, I have worked out a backup plan.

Follow me on Twitter @auntomato.

If you’re not on Twitter, my brother Jim Baumer tells you how to do it in five easy steps.

For those who think the personal blog is dead, it’s still the wee small hours of the morning; the blogging hour for me.  As I take a slow glance about the internet, I see the blogosphere still chugging along, not dead yet.  The pending collapse of blogging may discourage some of the people who were hiding in the trees along the riverbank, hesitantly planning to jump into the word fray.  There are many ugly trees that are dropped into office parking lots across this land; maybe some bloggers are hiding under them as well.  One thing is sure.  Even an ugly tree looks beautiful after it snows.

For those tentative tree hiders who might still think blogging is beautiful, I present today’s bloggernot.  Join me in  twelve reasons not to start a blog.

My first five reasons are the opposite of the five supportive reasons I outlined last week.  They bear little elaboration:

  1. You have nothing to say,
  2. You have no time,
  3. You like your world the way it is,
  4. You don’t care about other people, places, and things, and
  5. You see no need to change yourself.

Facebook stalkers who never post status updates are probably not in the blogging business.  Writing a blog takes time, energy and passion.  Even if a person is a content-creating maniac, an idea has to go from the brain to the medium; the transmission involves a pencil, a computer, or some other communication and transcription device.  There is still no Jean-Luc Picard method of blogging.

If those five reasons weren’t enough ugly branches under the snow, here are seven more reasons to not start blogging:

  1. You hate spam,
  2. You hate theft,
  3. You are sensitive,
  4. You have a grandiose opinion of your unpublished work,
  5. You don’t like making executive decisions,
  6. You want to make money, and
  7. You are a quitter.

You hate spam
In the beginning, I was lucky to have two other writers who promised to read everything I wrote.  That was enough to keep me going.  Nature abhors a vacuum, though, and so I hoped other people would read my blog and provide me with feedback.  Every day I discovered that people were reading my blog, but most of them were spam bots and the comments they wanted to post were usually about “search engine optimization,” hot air balloon travel, and rhinestone tiaras.  My favorite spam comment of all time went something like this:

“You’re so cool.  I don’t suppose I’ve read anything like this before.”

You hate theft
The first time WordPress notified me of a “reblogging” event, I panicked.  Someone had posted my blog post onto their own blog by clicking the “reblog” button.  My content became their content.  STOP, THIEF!  I asked my nephew, Mark Baumer, what this all meant.  He said:

“Basically, there is a lot of junk out there (comments/reblogging/candy) that is built to be a little high with no substance.  If you start writing for only comments/reblogs/candy you’ll feel good for a second when you get all those comments/reblogs/candy but there’ll be a big letdown you’ll have to write another thing to get even more comments/reblogs/candy to fill your comments/reblogs/candy needs.”

You are sensitive
When you start putting your “work” out on the highway of ideas, everyone will have an opinion about your stuff.  They may tell you about it.  They may not.  As sure as I’m writing this, someone who has never written 500 words at one sitting will tell me how to make my blog better.  They might suggest advertising, more pictures, and hot air balloons.  For a sensitive person, these suggestions are tempting and will distract you from the task at hand.

You have a bloated opinion of yourself and your work
When a blogger first puts their content into the electronic river of words, it’s exciting.  It’s easy to read these self-stylized words and think “wow, I really am a great writer.”  Then you will look at your blog traffic and realize no one is reading your blog.  You will start to analyze other blogs.  You will discover poorly executed blogs that say absolutely nothing have thousands of followers.  You will think you need to get some “search engine optimization.”  SEO.  It crossed my mind.  So I again asked my nephew what to do.  He said:

“SEO can be a dirty game…Every complaint you’ve ever had about spam comments, people stealing content, blogs with high traffic and stupid posts, etc. is related to SEO.  Search engines have secret algorithms for how they generate what appears first in searches.  No one knows what that algorithm is.  SEO is the game people play to beat this algorithm and make their site appear higher on searches.  I would not recommend ever paying for SEO results.”

You do not want to make executive decisions
Writing a blog with any frequency involves much more than writing a few hundred words.  After you’ve written your content, it must be edited, proofread, and entered into a blogging tool.  There are graphical design decisions to be made and if photographs are included with a post, there might be some additional work.  More editing is done before publishing to the web.  After a while, it’s like driving a car and maybe you can do it without thinking, but it can take some time to develop confidence about the decisions.  A person who doesn’t like making decisions will not like blogging.

You want to make money
Unless you have an excellent and unique product that the market wants, you will make no money on a blog.  You might even spend some money purchasing your own domain name and personalizing your blog.  It might look like blogging is just a lucky day at the casino, but it’s not.

If these eleven reasons to not start blogging aren’t disheartening enough, perhaps the most important reason I discourage a person from starting a blog is:

You are a quitter
Analyze your life.  How many times have you joined the gym on January 2nd and made it until January 10th?  How many times have you said “I’ll never smoke another cigarette” and then scrounged around in your freezer for your emergency pack?  Sworn off Doritos?  Do you have a spare bedroom full of unfinished craft projects?  Is your garage filled with plastic containers of things that need to go to the local thrift shop?  If any of these questions ring a quiet bell in your ear, blogging is not for you.

I rest my case.

Bloggernot; it’s up to you.

Posted in Friday Pillow Talk | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Snow Day for the Chic Boutique

Posted on January 17, 2013 by Julie-Ann Baumer

It snowed yesterday.  I spent the day working in Portland, Maine and it was slushy and messy.  Two farmers showed up in Longfellow Square and I bought some grass fed beef.

I left the office around 4:00 p.m. and headed out to get a cup of coffee for the ride home.  The upscale coffee shop I usually go to had closed due to the snow.

Darn.

I slogged down Exchange Street and found another upscale coffee shop that was open, but I noticed a lot of chic boutiques had darkened their doorways.  Mark Gatti was hitching up his hot dog cart at the corner of Tommy’s Park.

“Hey, how was your day today?” I asked.

“Not bad,” he said “I turned a profit.”

Right on.

I made the final schlep towards the parking lot and paused outside another boutique.  The lights were dim but it wasn’t dark.  I jiggled the door handle, hoping against hope they were open.

No luck.

Walking away, I made eye contact with a fellow traveler.  I said “Lots of places are closed today.”

“Yeah,” he said “Bunch of wimps.”

Posted in Minimalist | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Aunt Tomato Reads…Gene Logsdon

Posted on January 16, 2013 by Julie-Ann Baumer

Every time I pick up a Gene Logsdon essay, I say to myself “why don’t I read more Gene Logsdon essays?”  They’re thoughtful, pastoral, and practical.  And they’re contrary.

Mr. Logsdon’s Wikipedia biography can be read here and includes a list of his many works.  This biography correctly defines him as an American man of letters and I think that’s right; he is an intellectual, but he is not a scholar or an academic.  Interestingly, he completed the work for a Ph.D. in American studies and folklore “but was denied his degree when he refused a teaching position.”  Although he refused the traditional path of teaching, he is a do-er; after spending much of his life as a suburban journalist, he returned to his boyhood home of Upper Sandusky, Ohio, farming on land near this home.  He is still writing.

His book “The Contrary Farmer” begins with a short introductory essay “The Ramparts People” in which he describes his journey away from his early farm life, following the suggestions of his father and the world to do what he was supposed to do, i.e. leave the farm and make his way.  I identify with Mr. Logsdon when he states “Unfortunately I tried to follow his advice and it took me until I was forty-two to realize that I knew what was better for me when I was twelve.  And having hunted everywhere for the peculiar kind of freedom…I came back to my boyhood home—the place of my beginnings—and found it.”  He describes such people who eschew the conventional notions of success as “Ramparts People.”  He holds up hope that these people, on their small “cottage farms” have the potential for creating real communities.

His book “The Contrary Farmer” was the first “farming” book I read; my brother gave me the collection of ten essays when I first started talking about growing food.

There is quite a gulf between talking about something and doing it; at that time, many of the essays were confusing to me, like the chapters on meadows and water.  After a second reading and the passage of a few more years spent growing some food, I better understand what Mr. Logsdon means when he writes “Without adequate water, the most advanced agronomic blend of fertilizers or organic composts is so much powder in the wind.”   The essay provides an introduction to such things as drainage, the importance of ponds, springs, and wetlands.

Logsdon’s essay “The Peaceable Kingdom of the Barnyard” provides a guide to livestock, outlining the easiest to the more difficult types of critters a new farmer might select for a cottage farm operation.  The author recommends chickens as the easiest and most economical of barnyard animals.

Mr. Logsdon contrarily suggests many things in his essays, beyond the acquisition of a few chickens.  He suggests ideas; some of these ideas are radical.  In his essay on forests and woodlots, “Groves of Trees to Live In,” he says “A woodburning stove is the cottage’s symbol of economic and therefore political freedom.”

Above all, Mr. Logsdon is passionate about rural living; his “afterword” essay is called “Books the Contrary Farmer Treasures” and it’s a helpful list of other contrary authors who are equally passionate about life on the farm.

Not everyone is cut out to be a “Ramparts” person, but it is always interesting to examine the possibility before turning away from such a life.  Reading about ideas is an easy first step in this examination; reading a Gene Logsdon essay will put a reader on the contrary path.  If one is too busy to read a whole book of his essays, read his blog.  He writes one essay per week, every Wednesday.

Hey, it’s Wednesday; he’s probably working on his blog right now.

All quotations in this book review are taken from “The Contrary Farmer” by Gene Logsdon, published in 1994 by Chelsea Green Publishing Company, White River Junction, Vermont, ISBN 0-930031-74-1(pbk).

Posted in Back to School | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Winning One for the Farmer

Posted on January 15, 2013 by Julie-Ann Baumer

My father, Herman the German, loves football.  He likes the NFL, college football, and once in a while, he’ll even go to a high school football game.  A football letterman himself, he enjoys monopolizing the Tee Vee in the winter, watching football.

Helen and Herman have only basic cable on their Tee Vee.  They have a viewing schedule that includes weather in the morning, local and national news in the evening, and maybe a Seinfeld episode here and there.  They don’t watch much Tee Vee; any other programming they might watch is generally…football.

Over the long Thanksgiving weekend, I had the pleasure of watching the Notre Dame – USC game with Herman; apparently, he’s a big Notre Dame fan.  It was a great game and Notre Dame won 22 – 13.  When I looked at their schedule, I noticed they wouldn’t be playing again until after Christmas and the game would be televised on ESPN, which is not part of my parent’s cable package.  The wheels in my brain started turning and hatching a plan which would perfectly coincide with the most wonderful time of the year.

One night after a long day at The Big Corporation, I scanned the Time Warner Cable website; since I don’t have a Tee Vee with hundreds of channels, the information on their site seemed mysterious and complicated.  I picked up the phone and called one of their customer service numbers.  I reached “Shirley” who didn’t say so, but sounded like she might have been in a call center somewhere in the middle of America.  I explained my consumer need—I wanted to provide my parents with the cable package which would add ESPN to their Tee Vee transmissions.  If possible, throw in some NESN, too.  Shirley said it would be possible for me to do this.  She told me she would just need to click around in her digital bag of tricks; it might take a few minutes.  She sounded like a very nice, hard-working person.  Finally, she said “Yes, the package which would include ESPN and NESN would actually provide your parents with 60 more channels.  Doesn’t that sound great?”

I didn’t know what to say, so I said “Um, sure, and how much per month is that?”

There was an uncomfortable moment of silence and then she said “$65.”

Having lived outside the land of the cable bundling shell game for a very long time, I was flabbergasted and almost speechless.  Sadly for Shirley, I was not speechless and I said,

“$65 per month?  No wonder so many people are broke in this country.  That’s criminal.”

Clearly, Shirley had heard the likes of me before and something clicked in her attitude.  She knew she was not going to make a sale; she explained that she could provide the same package for $45 per month if my parents had digital cable.  There was a coolness in her voice which told me I had crossed the line by comparing her line of work to the Watergate break-in.  I thanked Shirley for her time and said my parents wouldn’t be getting a Time Warner cable package from Santa Claus this year.

I’m not the first person in the world to confront the complexities of modern living.  I know it’s almost impossible to get any good cable Tee Vee for under $100 per month and I know that even though it seems like a buffet of choices, it’s really only 60 different pasta dishes with a few meat balls thrown in.  That’s probably why my parents don’t have it already; they’re pretty frugal.  My mother hardly ever makes pasta for the big football fan, either.  She knows it tastes good but will leave him looking for a snack in a few hours.

I decided to go back to my original gift plan.  I gave my parents a half-share at the CSA farm in their town, Little Ridge Farm.  My mother was excited and happy about it; she even sent me a thank you note and said so.  The farmer, Keena Tracy, mailed out cute New Year’s cards, too.

Herman didn’t say much about the CSA half-share; there were plenty of college bowl games to watch over the holidays.  As it turned out, Notre Dame lost shamefully to Alabama on January 7.  It wasn’t even worth a meatball.

Cheer, cheer for Little Ridge Farm…winning one for the farmer!

Posted in Experiments and Challenges, Farmers | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

The End of an Era

Posted on January 14, 2013 by Julie-Ann Baumer

I was making a pot of the easiest lentil soup ever last Friday night.  I followed my own instructions, plugged in my slow cooker, and turned it on the low heat setting.  Nothing happened, which is normal for a Crock-Pot on the low heat setting.  They’re called “slow cookers” for a reason.  A few hours passed and still nothing happened.  I thought it was odd so I turned it to the high heat setting.  Still nothing happened.

My Crock-Pot was dead.

When an old appliance dies, I am filled with dread.  It’s unlikely that the replacement product will be as sturdy and sound as the old one.  A new one may have the appearance of quality, but like everything else in this new junk era of disposable products, it won’t be built to last.  My dead Crock-Pot also reminded me of being young and hopeful; I got it when I was a “new homemaker.”  It may have been 25 years ago.  My ex-husband never really liked anything I made in the slow cooker.  I would make beef stew and after dinner, he’d be making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for himself.  After a while, I just stopped making healthy meals.

That ugly old Crock-Pot made a lot of healthy meals for me in the last ten years, though.

According to eBay, my Rival Model 3100P Crock-Pot has become a vintage collectible and ranges in price from between $30 and $40.  Would a vintage Crock-Pot last another 25 years?

A new Crock-Pot of similar size costs about $25.  I went to the official Crock-Pot website and I can see that buying a new one will be a lot like buying yogurt.  There are many options and choices.  Maybe I don’t need to do anything right now.  My lentil soup came out perfectly on top of the stove and to be honest, that was really the only healthy meal I ever made in my slow cooker anyway.

I’m too sad to post a picture; it wouldn’t be right because it’s a happy day here in New England.  The Patriots beat the Texans yesterday and they’re meeting the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Championship next Sunday.  All’s well in Trophy Town today and apparently, I can buy a Crock-Pot to prove it.

I’m not going to do anything about my Crock-Pot.  I might be “just fine” without one more consumer good in my life.  I may even find one on the side of the road this spring.

Go Pats!

Posted in Just Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Winter Nerve Food

Posted on January 13, 2013 by Julie-Ann Baumer

January can be a long, dark, and damp month.  Nerves are frayed from being cold and inside.  Nerve food is needed.

Nerve Food

Work on this year’s Moxie Festival theme begins this week.  I’m going to rest today to get ready for the meeting.  You rest too; we all need a little nerve food and we all need a little rest.

Posted in Today We Rest | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Bloggernot, Part One

Posted on January 11, 2013 by Julie-Ann Baumer

The other day at The Big Corporation, my friend Slim said “Hey! I liked Maiden Voyage.”  Her name isn’t really Slim, but it could be because she’s tall, slim, and pretty, just like a super model.  Think Gisele Bunchen without the attitude.  Slim would never say “my husband cannot BLEEP throw the ball and catch the ball at the same time.”

Her dog, Bailey, really is a super model.

He’s retired now, but at one time, he was on the cover of a catalogue that sold dog sweaters, dog slippers, and dog smoking jackets.  Sadly, he doesn’t read my blog.

Supermodel or not, I had no idea Slim was reading my blog so I said “Hey! Thanks!”  We talked about blogging for a few minutes and then she said “It’s weird, but I can hear your voice when I read it.”

I looked away for a minute because I had to wipe a little tear from the corner of my eye.  It made me happy to know my words matched the thoughts that came out of my mouth from time to time.  Of course, Slim sat next to me for two years, so maybe my voice had worn a groove into her ear drum.

I started thinking about blogging and how much fun it has been this past year.  I was nervous when I first started writing and hanging things out on the internet; there are many talented people who have a lot to say.  People with vast amounts of knowledge, expertise, and talent produce bundles of information and stick it out on this electronic clothesline for the world to see.  From time to time, I will talk to people about blogging and they’ll say “oh, I could never do that.”

Blogging may not be for everyone but I have found it to be an easy way to experiment in the “writing” racket.  I had some creative talents that were rotting on the vine of my life.

For every person who might have a rotting grape somewhere in their life, I present five reasons to pluck it and start writing a blog;

  1. You have something to say,
  2. You write Facebook posts extending beyond the “see more” break,
  3. You want to create your own little world,
  4. You want to highlight other people, places, and things, and/or
  5. You want to change yourself.

You have something to say
I am always amazed when I remember that Emily Dickinson’s first book of poetry was published in 1890, four years after her death.  According to her biography, “it met with stunning success.”  Some might say “it is what it is,” but every time my birthday rolled around I would lament that another year had passed and I hadn’t written any letters to the world.  I had a few things to say.  The practice of writing every day has helped sharpen some of my thoughts and has revealed where they are cloudy and weak.  Although this blog has not yet met with stunning success, my letter to the world is now in the mailbox.

You write Facebook posts extending beyond the “see more” break
Facebook is fun, isn’t it?  It’s like a giant buffet of words, pictures, ideas, games, and emotions.  Sometimes, it’s like a big, rolling trash can.  One of my friends from home writes the most beautiful, poignant posts.  He really has something to say and I’m glad he shows up in my Facebook news feed.  His status updates are generally at least 500 words long, he always has a thesis, he supports his thesis with logical ideas, and then he makes a conclusion.  He’s inspiring and he has almost 900 Facebook friends, too.  The problem is that sometimes right after he posts an amazing piece, someone else posts a picture of their non-supermodel dog taking a dump and his post rolls by.  I don’t get around to reading it.  If he had a blog, I’d read it religiously.

You want to create your own little world
My daily weekday goal has always been to arrive at The Big Corporation no later than 9:00 a.m.  Yet every day, by the time I’ve showered, dressed, ironed, prepared my lunch, composed my thoughts, and loaded up the Jeep, I’m late.  It was stressful.  I even wrote a blog post about it.  Ever since I wrote that post, I’ve been at peace about my 9:30 a.m. arrival.  Why?  Because when I pass the intersection where the Federal Express trucks leave their local hub, I’m comforted to see them heading out onto the highways and byways, delivering the world on time.  It makes me laugh and I say to myself “I’m living in my blog.”  The sun is almost always shining in my blog.

You want to highlight other people, places, and things
Good, bad, and interesting things happen every day.  Places burn their image into memory. People are born, they live, and they die and sometimes in that span of time, they affect us.  All of these topics are fodder for a blog.  Some of my most popular blog posts have been when I’ve swung the spotlight onto some other person, place, or thing.  I love telling someone “I wrote about you on my blog today!”

You want to change yourself
Anchovies might just be the most maligned pizza topping in the world.  Bands have written songs which have kept people from eating this freaky preserved fish product and who was I to tell people to eat more anchovies?  I’d never eaten one myself.  One day an anchovy strayed onto a slice of pizza I was eating and it was delicious.  Then I had some in a Caesar salad.  Now, I’m an anchovy fan; they have lots of healthy qualities.  But until I changed my anchovy habits, I had no business telling other people The J. Geils Band was full of BLEEP about anchovies.  Since I’ve changed myself, I can confidently say “Don, that bowling ball is not your wife.”

Start a blog today; it’s still free and so are you.

Posted in Friday Pillow Talk | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments