La vita è circolare

I recently tried a thought experiment, while on a plane trip back from San Francisco. I gave myself a span of about 5 minutes, and then made note of where my mind wandered, to see just how often I think about food. This was the approximate list from the cocktail napkin:

the pain in my neck (thanks, Continental)

wonder if the kids are killing each other

sleeping in my own bed

snuggling with the wife

making a really tall Dagwood, avocado, ham, redleaf lettuce, low fat swiss, deli mustard

do I have some of the breakfast bread I swiped from the restaurant in my briefcase?

snap out of it

snuggling with the wife

snap out of it

work (an article I’m writing on travel literature during the Cold War)

road trips

barbeque. Really, really good barbeque, the kind you find on road trips. There was this place out in the desert in California. . . 

Five Year Old Renders Parent Irrelevant (Nothing to do with weight loss, but cute)

The setting: Me in my armchair, after dinner. The phone rings. A small voice at the other end of the line. “May I speak to Smiley, please?”

Moi: “Uh–all right.”  Smiley summoned, the phone handed over. Pleasantries, small talk, then business. When is a good time for the play date? Well, how about for you? That would be fine. All right, I’ll see you then. Good bye. Hang up. Return to coloring book downstairs. 

Moi: “Excuse me? What just happened? Who was that?”

Smiley: “Oh, just Nicholas.”

Moi: “And Nicholas would be…?”

Smiley: “From school.”

“You just seemed to have organized an event with him; care to inform me, or his parents, about it?”

“I guess we should, to see if it’s all right.”

“Darn tooting.”

“Can you dial his number for me?”