Leftovers may be
the best lunch. Today I had half a turkey burger (minus the bottom half of the
bun which I somehow left in the restaurant last night), a small bit of egg
salad, some green beans, and some shaved Brussel sprouts in Caesar dressing—thanks,
but I’d rather have romaine with my Caesar dressing.But it was a good lunch—better
if I hadn’t followed it with a chocolate bar or at least a good portion of one.
Help! I need self-discipline.
If you want a
mixed-bag experience, take two eleven-year-old boys for dinner. They’re buried
in their phones and iPads. We went to the Star Café, which friend Betty and her
husband own. Boys ordered fries, didn’t eat them; dessert—one ate his, the
other said he doesn’t like spiced apples. Why did he order apple pie? They
wanted to wander around the Stockyards, which I wasn’t comfortable with. But
when prompted they were good with please and thank you.
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Why I sometimes don't make my bed
Sorry for the fuzzy picture, but she's so cute
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I read somewhere
that your dog is the mirror of your soul. Since my Sophie is sweet, lovable,
loyal, sometimes cuddly, I like that idea. But except for a rare instance or
two when my children were tiny, I’ve never had the unquenchable urge to run
away and explore the world that besets her. Indeed, I’m known as an anomaly
among my friends because I don’t really care to travel just for travel’s sake.
There are places I want to go—the cities where my children live, Scotland of
course, maybe Alaska—but it’s the destination, not the journey. Sophie on the
other hand wants to take of willy-nilly and see the wide, wide world. And I’ve
never barked at the toaster.
Since 23andme told
me I have a high number of Neanderthal markers, I decided I should look into
Neanderthals. My thought was that perhaps they’ve gotten a bad rap. Indeed,
they have! The best site I found on the net was titled, “Neanderthals are
People.” Thanks to popular literature and comics, we envision them as short,
stocky, beastly caricatures with lots of hair and dark complexions. They may
have looked ape-like but evidence of intelligent behavior has been uncovered by
scientists.
Neanderthals lived
in families, took care of the sick and elderly, buried their dead. They
controlled fire and had primitive tools such as axes, picks and cleavers. Yes,
they frequently lived in caves, but they had rituals, made jewelry, and mixed
paints for their faces and bodies—actions which indicate a world view beyond
their immediate knowledge. Although not demonstrated conclusively, it’s
possible they had language and some constructed sea-worthy boats.
So, to the
gentleman who posted on my wall that he knew all along liberals were
Neanderthals, I’ll claim the label. It’s not an insult.
My Neanderthal
ancestors account for only four percent of my overall DNA but they may be the
cause of my straight hair and relatively sparse hair on the back of my head. Do
you suppose I could blame them for my tendency to weigh seven percent more than
normal?
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