Reasons. in A small but passable life.

The title may mean nothing. Or everything.

I finished reading “The Testaments” by Margaret Atwood. I usually don’t review books, but I have a few words to say about this one. The Handmaid’s Tale was a good story. It broke new ground. The ending left you wondering . . . forever. There’s something powerful in that. The sequel was just that, a sequel. A continuation. It can stand on it’s own. But I do think it takes away from the first book. It breaks no new ground.

Of course, that is just my opinion. I could be wrong.

I went to the library to return that book and ordered another non-fiction, decided to not put two other non-fiction on the purchase order process (maybe next visit), and found another Kim Stanley Robinson on the shelf.

It was 88 degrees yesterday. Today and for a few days it is supposed to be in the mid-seventies. I should take advantage of it and put my hiking boots on. Its been about ten months since it has been cool enough to go out.

I stumbled upon a semantic conundrum the other day. I was in the produce department at the store looking for some celery stalks for Mom. It is not a place I usually frequent. A few feet away there happened to be a young gal, definitely a member of Gen Z, poking and prodding around in a pile of green stuff. I’m a male, I’m curious, I’m paying attention while trying to seem oblivious. She grabs a handful of something and stuffs it into one of those net bags. She turns and walks toward me. She’s wearing a black tank top with white lettering on the front- “Vegan Cum Tastes Better!”. She walks on past me and disappears around the corner. Ummm, okay. Feeling kinda aged, and definitely out of touch with reality, and definitely wondering about the theory of LSD flashbacks, I grab three stalks of celery and push my buggy toward the checkout lines.

I didn’t realize how dazed I was until I was putting all the stuff on the belt and was surprised when the cashier said something about scanning three separate stalks of celery. Oops! I guess I’d forgotten to bag them.

I’ve been thinking about the semantics of that statement ever since.

Certain facts have to be assumed:

1. There is a flavor difference.
2. She’s sampled enough to know the difference.
3. Is it not itself an animal product, assuming the phrase refers to the product rather than the source?

See what I mean? I often feel that at my age I’ve learned how to dance but the party is over. Other times I feel as if I have two left feet and I really should just go sit down somewhere.

Yeah, this chair will do just fine.

Last updated October 28, 2019