A lady is an uptight, suburban, church-going bitch who thinks I might be dangerous. And you’re calling me a lady? A lady is hairspray and perfume shuffling down the Campbell soup aisle of the local King Soopers. Do I look like a lady to you? A lady eats salad with the proper fork and never all of it because she can’t imagine what cucumbers might do to her girlish figure. Have you seen me eat? A lady speaks softly. “Excuse...
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When God created the snake without legs, the hoop snake was having none of it. Taking tail in mouth, he rolled away. A story told in two sentences is worth noting. Actually there are many stories of hoop snakes. It’s a legendary creature in American folklore often associated with Pecos Bill stories, but it’s origins might be older. A similar snake in Greek mythology, the ouroboros, was a symbol of eternal return. In Japanese...
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Learned today that some scholars think the Panchatantra is the origin of all fairy tales. That’s probably not entirely true, but it is one of the oldest sources. It was written in Sanskrit in the 3rd Century BCE by Vishna Sharma who gathered his material from even older versions. Tales from the Panchatantra have spread widely. Today they can be found from Java to Iceland. The enduring/endearing power of folk tales is the subject of a...
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This photo makes me smile. I found it in a collection of internet photos. No credit. No explanation. But TEAPOTS filled with flowers decorating a handrail made me stop flipping through the photos and wonder. Who planted these? Who thought to do that with teapots? Now, that’s a person I’d like to know. Talk about making the world a little better. Talk about making a little part of your environment greener. Better than better, flower...
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Yes, we love our families. Yes, lots of us have to give ourselves a pep talk before we enter the room for that Thanksgiving dinner, smiling. Families know how to push our buttons. Families have issues. If you haven’t seen the new George Clooney movie, be prepared. It’s not a feel-good. It’s a reality check. Speaking of reality checks, families are also good for that, too. They keep us grounded. Praise the Lord. Pass the gravy....
Read MoreMy son and I are walking through Chinatown in Los Angeles when I spot baskets of a fruit I’ve never seen. I ask the vendor what it’s called. He answers in something that sounds like Chinese, but might have been Malay. He beckons for me to follow him. In the back of the store, next to the dried fish, he whacks the fruit open and offers me one of the large teardrop pods. It’s sweet, custardlike in texture, maybe slightly slimy...
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