Nancy Savitt shared this story in Met Diary this week.
Twenty years ago, my friend Ilene and I were eating at a restaurant across the street from City Center before seeing a show. We vaguely noticed a guy who was around our age eating alone, but we were too busy talking to pay much attention to him and soon left for the theater.
As we settled into our seats before the show began, the guy from the restaurant showed up. He recognized us, introduced himself and struck up a conversation with us. The conversation continued at intermission, when he asked if he could take us out after the show. Later, he took out his card, wrote his home number on it and gave it to me.
Back at my apartment, Ilene and I discussed the pros and cons of calling him.
Did you think he was cute?, she asked
Oh, yeah!
But he’s a stranger.
Yes, it turned out we knew people in common, shared a sense of humor and had many common interests. But, still, was it safe?
Ilene encouraged me to at least meet him in a public place. “You don’t have to marry him!” she said.
Ah, but I did.
The puzzle today started off pretty boldly at 1A with the clue “Milk duds?” Duds is often used for clothing. Still, it was tough to come up with NURSING BRA. The B then helped solve 5D “Go on and on,” which was BLATHER. Did you know there is an organization that helps folks who can’t stop talking and talking and talking? It’s called On and On Anon.
The clue at 55A was “‘The Big Lebowski’ protagonist, with ‘the’” and the answer, of course, was DUDE. It led Rex to note that he did not like TBL and found that odd because it became a cult favorite, and he loved so many other Coen brother films. I was also disappointed in TBL, I must say, but was intrigued by how many commenters today said they hated it at first, but gave it another try (or two or three), and ended up really loving it. Hmmmm. May have to revisit. My Michigan grandson Mo’s other grandfather is Grandude.
I do recall enjoying this one scene — the part where John Goodman explains why he can’t bowl (or “roll” as they put it) on Saturday.
Don’t these beautiful babes on a trip to Cartagena, Colombia, look like they’re having a ball?
Travel planners are starting to take the concerns of fat people into account. What if spa bathrobes don’t fit? What if rides at amusement parks are not fat-friendly and you only find out after waiting on line for an hour? What if the airline loses your bag and you land at a location where stores do not have clothing big enough for you? On that last issue, the story in the Times notes that Trevor Kezon, a board member of the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance, said he purposely packs two suitcases on trips because of that possibility.
Groups such as Fat Girls Traveling, Swipe Fat, and Fat Girls Travel Too! are putting together fat-friendly group tours. One organizer said: The goal is for people “to travel unapologetically.” In addition to arranging for physical accommodations such as restaurants with large comfortable seating, the tours offer the camaraderie of like-bodied travelers. It may not seem like much to some, but imagine the joy behind a statement like — “For the first time in my life, I wore a two piece bathing suit.”
Is that great, or what? Last point — Car Talk’s swimsuit designer was C. Bigbe Hinds.
Let’s let Ted Kooser say goodnight for us tonight. Thanks for stopping in. This is from Winter Morning Walks.
A flock of several hundred small brown birds,
all of one mind, crazily chases its tail
across a muddy field and into a grove of trees.
They are full of joy, like a wheel that breaks loose
from a truck and bounds down the road
ahead of the driver, then eventually slows
and falls behind, wobbling onto a spot
on the shoulder, rocking around on its rim,
then settling with a ringing cry.
The Wellington Files 