Guffawing!; Fabric on Rocks; Same-sex Marriages

Today was sunny for a change but still chilly. Friday was rainy and cold. Saturday, it poured. Sunday was wet, chilly and windy.

Lunch today was at the usual Japanese restaurant. At first, there were only a few people at ths sushi bar. Then it quickly filled. I was definitely getting that canned sardine feeling.

A couple of times, I almost choaked to keep from guffawing as I read a story by David Sedaris in the latest "The New Yorker." Sedaris has a bizarre view of the universe that is wonderfully funny. One of the most hysterical pieces I've encountered is his story of being a Christmas elf at Macys.

Several pages later, I started reading an article about "A trip abroad in the late nineteen-forties" by Roger Angell. He and his wife had dinner with Janet Flanner and Tennessee Williams. Tennesse is not feeling well, and Flanner tells him to go home. " 'Go home, Tenn,' says Flanner, in ther field marshal's contralto..."

Flanner wrote columns for "The New Yorker" from almost the first issue. And her career continued until the 70s. One of my favorite books, "Paris Was Yesterday," is a collection of her columns.

P A U S E !

I was trying to find my yellowed-paged copy of her book, but I don't see it. The book situation only gets worse and worse. Since I can't find anything in the bookshelves, I'll take out books and put them on the floor. But that's gotten a tad messy too.

Well, I couldn't find "Paris Was Yesterday," but I did discover that one of the cats had thrown up on a paperback copy of John Preston's "Mister Benson." I'm not sure if this was an accident or a literary critique.

As I hauled one of the hampers out of the car, it stuck me that this communal washing of clothes may be among the world's oldest activities. The method may have changed from beating fabric against rocks to inserting coins into a device, but the activity is the same.

Marriage is a social and legal convience. And the practices have changed to reflect society. In the not too distanct past, persons of different races were not allowed to marry in this state. Also not too long ago, divorce was unthinkable in many situations. At one point, persons of different status were not allowed to marry. The UK still forbids the union of the monarch and any number of other individuals.

"Palimony" was first applied in a hetro context, but has evolved to apply to same-sex couples. The ideas of community property and child custody are far different than they were 30 years ago.

Of the great evils in the world, the attempts to deprive gays and lesbians of basic human rights has to be among the most vile.

PAX!