Tag: gin (Page 5 of 9)

In his immortal “Still Life with Woodpecker”, Tom Robbins wrote, “If you’re honest, you sooner or later have to confront your values. Then you’re forced to separate what is right, from what is merely legal.” That can be tricky. There are a ton of things that are or were legal that were definitely not right. I know a bunch of you want to argue today, you are just itching for a fight, but I’ve still got that headache, so I’m not here for that. Slavery was the law of the land, that didn’t make it right, so concede the point and let’s move on. Old Tom has been on my mind lately. I am a child of the time that book was created for “the last quarter of the 20th century”, but I am living closer to the end of the first quarter of the 21st. I’m an Aries born under Nixon ascendent, so I am charismatic, clever and perpetually wary of all earnestness. A lot of things have changed since I joined the planet, but it looks like this century is working extra hard to repeat the lessons of the last, for those who weren’t listening to Santayana. So, let’s take a look back as we stand and make the Twentieth Century.

Julia Child once said, “The more you know, the more you can create. There’s no end to imagination in the kitchen.” Later, Morgan Freeman said, “She’s right, you know.” He was not responding to her, but that doesn’t make his answer any less valid. The point is we need knowledge. Whether you are making crepes, art or public policy, the only way to do it well is with knowledge and, hopefully, a bit of wisdom. So, in the spirit of learning more, please, join me now as we stand and make the Upside-Down Martini.