Her picture on the badge around her neck showed her with hair much longer than she now had. I said something about that to the Chinese-American nurse who was taking care of me. She said that it used to come down to her waist, but she had it cut so she could donate it for wigs for chemotherapy patients. Then she went on to say, “I am not very curvy, and when my hair was so short, I looked like a boy. I cried for two or three months.” Even so, when her hair grew long enough, she was going to cut it and donate it again.

An attractive server in my local biergarten is in the process of opening her own restaurant. She says that it will be dog-friendly and vegetarian. Can the canines be happy if the doggy treats consist of untouched quinoa, salsify, and (sigh), the ever-popular purple kale?

What does it mean about our patriotism or our education that the words of the national anthem now appear on those large scoreboards at sporting events?

Crossing over the platform to get to another subway train at 8 AM on a Wednesday morning, the mother (I assume) is holding the hand of a three year old.  Mother, pleasantly,”Sweetie, that is not a snack.  That is a treat.”  A couple of beats later, a little voice.  “Then next time, could you pack a treat?”

“Not men who ran the world, but who made it run.” Ian McEwan, The Children Act.

Over dinner, the new acquaintance told me that his son had died at eighteen after years of a disease. The man said that he felt worthless and that he could not work.  How could he be effective at his job if he could not help his son?

I just finished reading Elaine Pagels, The Origin of Satan. To my surprise, it was not about the beginnings of Goldman Sachs.

A tidbit for your novel: At a scenic view on a trail on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, a chain link fence is in place with a sign warning not to approach the edge of the lookout.  Behind the sign, hidden from the casual hiker, a lovelock is secured to the fence. It does not say, “Sam Loves Sally” or “William and Wesley Forever.” Instead, commercially inscribed on it is only, “I (heart) Paris.”  Write a page or a paragraph.

“Privatizing the gains of investment; socializing the risk. This is a classic strategy for politically powerful entrepreneurs.” Edward E. Baptist, The Half Has Never Been told: Slavery and the Making of American Capitalism.

“Profound ideas bear repeating, or rediscovery, and many original ideas do not.” Tracy Kidder and Richard Todd, Good Prose: The Art of Nonfiction.

Four women had just completed a tennis game and were trying to arrange their next match.  It started to take some time as there were many conflicting commitments. Finally, Ann said that she had to leave.  She was going to a local church’s antique fair, an annual event with displays ranging from expensive jewelry to 1970s kitsch. Ann then said, “Oops I don’t have any money with me, but if I find anything I need at the fair, I’ll go home and get my wallet.” Do you ever find something you need at an antique show?