At the beginning of the second act of a performance by a Swedish circus, an acrobat asked the audience members to stand up, put their feet together, and close their eyes. She then said that whenever she does this she feels her body moving. “To be still, you have to move.” She was right.

“I learned from my mother, the retired beauty queen, that how well a woman speaks with her eyes is what separates the amateurs from the pros.” Patricia Engel, Vida.

It was a typical Brooklyn supermarket—narrow aisles with small shopping carts and a limited selection. I was surprised to see ping pong balls. Brooklyn homes don’t have basement rec rooms or other places for table tennis. When I mentioned this to the daughter, she gave me an interesting look and said only a bit condescendingly, “The balls aren’t for ping pong. They are for beer pong.” Yet another time for me to feel my ignorance.

I was twenty-five before I realized stockings were sexy.” Don DeLillo, The Names.

A giraffe died in an Allentown, Pennsylvania, zoo after sustaining a neck injury. Makeup your own jokes.

“In that moment, silently, we agreed that we were indeed in the presence of an exceptionally delusional white man—which is, of course, one of the most dangerous things in the world.” Mat Jonson, Pym.

I don’t think our president ever sang along on the car radio with Buddy Holly, the Rascals, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, the Stones, or any other performers from his youth. If so, isn’t that sad?

“Racism is pervasive. The pretense that it belongs solely to poor people who talk slow lets the rest of us off the hook.” Rebecca Solnit, The Encyclopedia of Trouble and Spaciousness.

The man with the clipboard and distinctive vest approached me and said, “Do you like puppies?” Already late for an appointment and not wanting to be trapped by another fundraiser, I shook my head, kept moving and then, to my surprise, said, “I hate ‘em.” As I went by the clipboard man, he said, “You would be perfect for this.” I kept walking out of the subway.

“He also said that no creature in nature jogs.” Jim Harrison, The English Major.