Dotty Parker

and goodbye

It's time for me to say goodbye to you, my darlings.

Since January of 2002 I've been writing here. It seems like a long time. Four years kind of is a long time, actually. I started reading a few of my old posts. How shocking! I'm much the same as I've ever been.

Old and much-hungered-for posts.

Things have changed a lot in the last year. As much as I'd like to say something profound, meaningful, and impressive about how the world works or about how much I've learned, I can't.

Perhaps that indicates just how much I have learned.

What has prompted this dereliction of verbal affection? Well, last night I found a little tidbit that was a prime candidate to be toasted over the Dotty-blog-fire last night. When I clicked to post something new, I found it had been two long weeks since words had issued from my fingertips.

So, my little geese, it seems to me that I've come to the end of my own personal phenomenon. Dotty is off to pursue new possibilities and watch the changes that are certain to come. All the brilliant wit and fabulous pondering will be funneled into new activities. And likely a lot of the old ones. When I'm famous, or if you're in town, come over for something to eat or drink. We'll talk over the old days, like old people, and talk about how things used to be and how things are and how "the more things change the more they stay the same." Groan. Old people talking.

But!

Then we can make fun of old people. "Hey Granny! Can't drive too good with all that hair puffed up around your head, can you?" And we'll say, "The old days, how the hell can they be the old days when we were young when the days were old? What kind of sense does that make?" And we'll say, "Is there any more gin? I could use a refill...go easy on the tonic."

I'll be seeing you. I won't have it any other way.

mm cakey!

Cake should make things taste good. And, often, it succeeds.

Today, it's on the wobbly edge of acceptable.

On the weekend I had ice cream cake at a party. That's good cake.

I've had rice cakes. Today I'm eating "Whole Grain Cakes". They taste a "Whole Lot Like Rice Cakes". They made me think about cake and cakes and if cake is a good thing. I was trying to quench my thirst for sweets when I bought those faux rice cakes. They had cinnamon and some kind of sweet stuff on them. And they take a long time to eat, which is good. Were they good? Good enough, I'd eat them again. And they have cake in their name. So how bad could it be?

Then I thought, "Wow. How bad can it be?"

Cupcakes. They're good.
Ice cream cake. Good.
Strawberry short cake. Yes yes yes so good so good.
Apple cake. Good.
Fruit cake. Eh.
Poundcake. Good.
Cake walk. Good.
Cake hole. What you taste if it's good with.
Chocolate cake. Good.
Vanilla cake. Good.
Pancake. Good.
Cake of soap. Not good.
Crab cake. Good.
Funnel cake. Good.
Patty cake. Fun.

Cake. It's what's for dinner. If you're lucky.

working for a living

I'm going to work tomorrow to substitute teach, fully prepared to write down a whole bunch of bizarre things that people say.

Here are my recent quotations.

From one funny guy: "European handball? I don't want to play that. I want to play hockey! She can play with her own hand."

A fellow was talking about something important to him, although I didn't understand what. He was kind of beefy. Maybe that explains it.

"I was up all day Thursday doing pushups!
"On the roof!
"Of the house!"

And then student number two made me laugh with his grasp of the kind of attitude a person needs to get ahead. (I'm not sure what the attitude is, but I would be he's right about what it isn't.)

Teacher-You don't like this? You'd rather graph? Algebra's easier!
Student 1-grumble
Student 2-You need to stop complaining. You're never going to make it with that attitude.

People are so funny! I could people watch for a very long time!

...oh yeah, I'm going to work to teach, too.