Early in our relationship, which is to say a long time ago, Alan gave me a very nice fountain pen. A Montblanc Meisterstuck, to be exact. I think he paid $140 for it, at a pen store on Calhoun Street in Fort Wayne. I’ve used it off and on over the years, because a fountain pen isn’t just something to write with. You gotta maintain it, too, clean it and keep the correct ink source nearby. At one point it spent several years in retirement, in the pencil cup on my desk, until I decided it was a shame to have such a beautiful pen and not use it, so I took it to the fancy-pen spot at the luxury mall in the suburbs, and they cleaned it up and returned it to service.
The thing about this pen are the details. The six-pointed white star on the tip of the cap, for example. It’s supposed to suggest a snow-capped mountain, as the company is named for the highest peak in the Alps. The pen-store clerks will tell you that in the Arab states, where luxury goods are in great demand, the company sells pens with just a round white tip on the cap, for obvious reasons. The nib has 4810 etched on it, the height of Mont Blanc in meters. Google will tell you the correct number is 4805.59, but the higher number is based on the height including the ice cap. Climate change probably has it closer to the Google number, so it’s fitting that this century-old company sticks with the bigger one.
I’ve been using it ever since. I find handwriting a to-do list is more satisfying than making one on my laptop. I also do a little journal-writing, the occasional check, this and that. When I travel, it goes along, in the elastic pen loop on my planner. I like it. The other day, I idly looked up what it would cost to replace, should what often happens with pens come to pass.
Reader, I nearly died: $810.
A friend of mine is in the Use the Good China camp. Open the special bottle, use the crystal, use the good china. What are you saving it for? Why leave it in the cabinet? And I agree, mostly. At the same time, I went to the pen place where I buy my Montblanc cartridges and bought a $35 Pilot fountain pen, plus a box of ink cartridges. I now use the two pens on alternating days, but only the Pilot will leave the house. At least I don’t have to worry about someone stealing it, although it is a cute purple. The Pilot blue ink is a little brighter, a little bluer. Here’s Fancy Pants and Purple Pop side-by-side.
If you’re wondering, I also use luxury pencils. I have a box of Blackwing 602s in my desk drawer, a sharpened one on my desk. I hardly ever write with pencils, but when I do I appreciate every little thing about the Blackwing. I gave Kate a box for Christmas, to go with the NYT crossword-puzzles book in the same package. (And a pencil sharpener, the small appliance people forget until they need one.)
It’s the little things. The things you touch. The things that are connected to the work you do in a primal way. I do nearly all my writing on a keyboard, but if you’re a writer you should have a decent pen. Now I have two.
Did anyone watch the president Wednesday night? I tried, or rather, I heard it coming from Alan’s iPad. But I noped out after five minutes, figured I’d read the NYT story the next day. Didn’t miss anything.
Happy weekend, all.
LindaG said on April 3, 2026 at 9:09 am
I ALWAYS watch presidential addresses, no matter how bad; but I too gave up on this one after several minutes. (Nobody’s ever seen anything like it!)
I learned shorthand in high school starting in about 1957. We were required to use a fountain pen. Later ballpoint pens were OK. Used shorthand as a secretary for several years; then taught it in high school until it died in the 1980s. Your pen is beautiful. I no longer have one.
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Mark P said on April 3, 2026 at 9:46 am
My brother used a fountain pen, but I have no idea what kind. He used it to grade papers when he taught some classes at Georgia Tech. The marks and notes seemed more emphatic when written with a fountain pen, and apparently he had a bit of a reputation for it. I use a pencil only when marking wood to cut. I used a pen back when I bought newspapers and did the crossword puzzle. Yeah, I’m that guy. But pencils never seemed to write well on newsprint.
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Pam H said on April 3, 2026 at 10:35 am
Your Mont Blanc is lovely and they have kept their value and then some.
Probably half the replacement value is for the gold nib.
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David C said on April 3, 2026 at 11:00 am
My chicken scratchings aren’t worth an $800 fountain pen or a $30 box of pencils. It’s Bic and cheap mechanical pencils for me. Forth grade penmanship was a living nightmare for dyslexic me and I’ll never forgive Mrs. Peterson for putting me through it.
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Heather said on April 3, 2026 at 11:15 am
My mom always used a fountain pen, but I’m left-handed, and my handwriting is messy enough without smearing ink everywhere. I do have a nice ballpoint an old boyfriend gave me that I stopped using when the ink ran out–this was before online shopping was a thing. I should find it and order some cartridges. I also believe in using the good stuff, but mostly apply it to clothes!
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Julie Robinson said on April 3, 2026 at 11:18 am
Starting as a teen, I had several fountain pens, never anything that nice though. I’m still particular about pens that work for me and carry two in my purse, one for me and one that I can lend and not be upset about losing. Roller ball pens just don’t write for me, no matter what angle I use.
Pencils? Mechanical only, soft lead.
That was much more pleasant than the speech. Thought I’d read the story and couldn’t even make it through that.
Not looking forward to having Pam Bondi back in the state, where DeSantis will probably give her a seat on the Florida supreme court.
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alex said on April 3, 2026 at 11:46 am
I got the penmanship award four years in a row when I was in military school and used fountain pens for my school work. What I liked about writing with them was that it was a slow and deliberative process and I found it calming and engaging during a time when my stressful daily existence allowed for few distractions.
These days I can seldom even find a pen in the house, never mind that I buy bulk packs of ballpoints every so often. (Going through the same thing with scissors right now as a matter of fact. I picked up 10 pairs of them at IKEA the last time I was there and now can locate only one of them.)
Other than writing checks or making shopping lists, I hardly ever bother to write anything by hand anymore.
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Deborah said on April 3, 2026 at 11:51 am
I got a fancy pen when I left an architecture firm where I had worked 18 years. I promptly lost it, or someone “borrowed” it. I can’t keep pens very long, I usually snag the ones from hotel rooms and then they’re gone in a couple of months. I like pens with very slender tips, not ball points, I used to buy them in boxes of a dozen or so but I haven’t done that for a long time, I need to do that.
It was a thing for a while for architects to use fancy fountain pens and they had 3 or 4 of them with different colored inks. I think it started with the late Chicago architect Helmut Jahn and lots of people who worked for him copied that and then they’d go work for another firm and it got passed around until it was a thing. I don’t know if it’s something still done, I haven’t heard of it for a while.
My husband uses simple mechanical pencils, the latest one he has only had for 2 or 3 years they usually last him about 15 years, so this may be the last one he ever owns. They’re not fancy at all, he just hangs on to them, carries it in his pocket every day until the push button on the end gives out.
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ninja3000 said on April 3, 2026 at 11:54 am
Luv the Montblanc, I envy you. I recently refurbed a pair of Cross ballpoint pens that my dad had been using since the 1960s, and they’re wonderful. I grew up using cartridge fountain pens, but don’t remember the brand.
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ROGirl said on April 3, 2026 at 12:35 pm
My father got me a Mont Blanc Rollerball pen around 1991, when I was awarded a graduate assistantship at Wayne. My uncle had an office supply store on Milwaukee near the old GM Building at the time, so he probably got it from him. They run for $600 these days. I used it a few times after I got it. The cartridge in the pen has given up the ghost, but there’s a spare cartridge in the box.
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Icarus said on April 3, 2026 at 3:32 pm
this thread reminds me of this scene in this movie
https://youtu.be/-3thj3OOWNQ?si=PWmkFnFC2_pSXlFo&t=9
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Candlepick said on April 3, 2026 at 4:45 pm
Blackwings are a thing to experience. You have to get a box, which is pricey, but then it feels less so if treat them as a shareable luxury. I wrap up a pencil or two for everyone’s Christmas stocking.
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Deborah said on April 3, 2026 at 7:35 pm
I’ve been surprised about how little buzz has been out there about this moon shot. Maybe it’s just me, the algorithms that service my social media are not giving it to me, or something. When I was a kid space was a huge deal, whenever there was any activity it was on the news all of the time. I’m hardly hearing or seeing anything, I saw a couple photos of the earth from space which I find fascinating, but that’s about it.
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Cheez Whiz said on April 3, 2026 at 8:19 pm
My wife wanted to watch the Presidential Address so I listened in, chipping in the occasional “he’s lying” when she asked me a question. All-purpose answer with this guy.
One thing that stuck out for me was his repeated use of the word “soon”, the war will be over soon, gas prices will go down very soon. Couldn’t think why until I remembered how he talked about Covid in early 2020. “Pretty soon it will just go away”, over and over for a few weeks. Its a tell, like “2 weeks”, it means he doesn’t understand what’s happening so is retreating into Positive Thinking, waiting for something to happen he does understand. Not a great sign for progress in the not-a-war.
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Dorothy said on April 3, 2026 at 8:24 pm
Those are fine looking pens, but I spend my $$ on quilt fabric, which is upwards of $13-$17 a yard these days. I have sworn off buying anymore this year. I have enough for two or three lifetimes in my house. BUT I do have a pen preference. When I got the job in the Music office at UD I did the office supplies ordering, so I got the ones I love to write with: Pilot fine point BP-S in blue and black. They feel good in my hand, they write smoothly and don’t skip, and they aren’t Bic pens, which is all they really need to be. I hate Bic pens. I won’t use them if that’s all they have at a doctor’s office. I use one of the Pilots I carry in my purse.
Pencil sharpeners! I have one of the old fashioned ones mounted to the wall in our garage. It takes me back to my childhood home where ours was in the basement. I can still smell the lead and wood shavings. (Well I can smell them at the house I live in NOW, but you know what I mean). And I have small ones that live in a few of my sewing boxes, like the one under the coffee table, the one beside my Brother sewing machine, sitting on the bottom of the pegboard wall – if I’m tracing lines to cut out shapes for a quilt I need the pencils to be sharp, so the sharpeners are in frequent use.
I will never listen to or watch on mute an address while that dipshit is in office. If I need to know what was said I can find out another way. Seeing him talk or listening to him is enough to put me in a rage. It’s safer for those around me that I stay away from those events on t.v.
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Jeff Gill said on April 3, 2026 at 8:37 pm
Dorothy, on this evening of Good Friday, I hope you will forgive me. When I got home from the last service and read your latest post, with the line “I have sworn off buying anymore this year” — I admit I laughed out loud. Please forgive me!
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Julie Robinson said on April 3, 2026 at 10:41 pm
Deborah, there’s been lots of coverage here in Orlando! The TV stations break into live, so we watched the first part there, then ran out to the front yard for the middle part, and back in once it got too high. They said we would hear it, and experience the sonic boom. But first a plane flew low, then a helicopter, so the rocket went unheard. The contrail was the thickest one I’ve seen.
Jeff, I still need to listen to Messiah and JC Superstar. Sometimes pastor’s families own preparations get short shrift, as you well know.
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Mark P said on April 4, 2026 at 12:10 am
I just saw where Trump’s proposed budget cuts billions from domestic programs, but includes $10 billion for beautification of the District of Columbia. I wonder if he has a detailed scale model of Washington as he envisions it that he pores over instead of listening to how badly we’re doing in his war with Iran. You know, with magnificent buildings and large monuments to him.
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basset said on April 4, 2026 at 9:39 am
On this day and roughly this hour in 1981 I was just getting up at the Red Roof Inn in Kalamazoo and preparing for our wedding that afternoon. 45 years, that justifies a nice dinner out tonight.
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4dbirds said on April 4, 2026 at 11:25 am
I recently read a Reddit thread where someone asked what something was outrageously expensive that you bought, and you found it lifechanging. Mattresses, a Miller chair, bidets and houses were high on the list. After reading your post, fountain pens should be up there too. I should admit I agree with the bidet although I didn’t find ours all that expensive.
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Peter said on April 4, 2026 at 11:59 am
Alex, I bought my first pair of left handed scissors over 55 years ago and I still have it. The trick is to put it in a place you’ll never forget – I this case, I always keep my scissors in the cheese/meat bin in the refrigerator.
The first time my now wife was in the apartment, she asked why is there a pair of scissors in the refrigerator, and I said “FOR COLD CUTS!”
She still married me.
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Julie Robinson said on April 4, 2026 at 1:01 pm
Happy Anniversary, basset! Let us know how your meal is.
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Jakash said on April 4, 2026 at 1:11 pm
Julie, since you’re both one of the most Christian and probably THE most knowledgeable about Broadway-type music around here, I imagine you have an opinion about this.
I know there are a lot of different versions, but to me, there have always been 2 JCS options: the original cast (in the brown box) and then the movie soundtrack. We’ve had both for decades and I have different things I prefer about each. I guess that overall, I’ve settled on the movie soundtrack, however. Perhaps that’s just because I’ve seen the movie more than stage productions.
Which of these (or which other recording) do you listen to?
Happy Anniversary, Basset! Indeed, I hope the dinner is swell. (Alas, my toasting-champagne-glasses emoji was not accepted.)
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Julie Robinson said on April 4, 2026 at 2:17 pm
Do I have an opinion? Hahahaha. Jeff G will disagree, but the movie never resonated with me, and usually I listen to the orginal brown box concept album. But today, I listened to the John Legend version, which is better than watching his deficient acting. I scrolled for three minutes through different recordings, though I didn’t see the most recent where Cynthia Erivo played JC. Would love to hear that one again.
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Colleen said on April 4, 2026 at 2:20 pm
As a lefty, fountain pens don’t work well for me. I don’t know how my left handed dad did it in high school in the 50s. Years ago I did snag an old green Ohio University fountain pen that was mom’s. Using it was a short lived experiment. Ink everywhere!
I’m a fan of Ticonderoga pencils. Are Blackwings significantly different?
So weird how writing implements become so personal.
I can’t listen to or even look at that lying sack of crap. So I didn’t watch his 20 minute lie-a-thon.
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Colleen said on April 4, 2026 at 2:29 pm
So I posted that and went back to FB. Where I promptly began getting ads for….fountain pens.
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alex said on April 4, 2026 at 2:56 pm
Peter, the refrigerator is exactly where I should keep my scissors. I used them just this morning to cut the skin off of our Easter ham. This was after I realized that trying to remove it with a knife in my pork-greased palm was a disaster waiting to happen.
Also today I came across a story too good not to share. The teaser: Did you know that Dan Rather and Donald Rumsfeld bought a ranch in New Mexico together? With cameo appearances by Roger Ailes, Jeffrey Epstein and Les Wexner. Enjoy: https://alisav.substack.com/p/why-the-and-did-dan-rather-and-donald?r=17krs&utm_medium=ios&triedRedirect=true
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Jeff Gill said on April 4, 2026 at 4:15 pm
I posted something last night about my son & I singing along with the Norman Jewison film of “Jesus Christ Superstar” which has become a sort of family tradition after Good Friday services… and Ted Neeley “liked” it. So I’m feeling pretty happy. Ian Gillan & Murray Head were superlative, but in my mind & my heart, Jesus is Ted & Judas is Carl Anderson.
But I don’t think it’s a “right answer” sort of thing. Happy Easter, everyone!
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Deborah said on April 4, 2026 at 4:34 pm
Alex, that’s quite a complicated plot about Rumsfeld and Rather. Rumsfeld had a ranch in Taos which apparently isn’t the same one as the one in your link. The one in your link is in San Miquel County which is east of Santa Fe. I have seen the ranch house that Rumsfeld owned in Taos, it was quite unassuming. During the Iraq war there were lots of protest marches that went from downtown Taos to Rumsfeld’s ranch outside of town a ways. Rumsfeld used to visit and could be seen often at a popular burger place that made green chile burgers that were considered delicious. We never went to that place so never tried those burgers. Rumsfeld’s son lived at his Taos ranch, the (so called) kid was having a hard time launching into adulthood apparently, and Rumsfeld’s daughter lived in Santa Fe for many years, her husband was an architect there. I have no idea if they are still there. Rumsfeld’s ranch was near Julia Robert’s ranch in Taos, both were sold a while ago. Dennis Hopper is buried somewhere in Taos, he was a regular there.
Taos used to be on the map for celebrities and artists, it’s less so now. The first time I was ever there I thought it was a tacky tourist trap but I love it now, it rubs off on you because of the beautiful surrounding landscapes.
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Dorothy said on April 4, 2026 at 8:26 pm
You’re forgiven, Jeff. And Happy Easter. Also my fingers were crossed when I typed that sentence one handed.
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Deborah said on April 5, 2026 at 11:04 am
Happy Easter to all who celebrate. Yesterday I made a ham in the crockpot that I just got (no working oven yet) that we had for dinner. Today we’ll probably have sandwiches.
I’ve realized that cooking gives me anxiety now. Trying to get everything done at the same time so it’s hot when you’re ready to serve is nerve wracking. Trying to clean as you go along in a tiny kitchen is not fun. It’s not the least relaxing to me, I envy those who love to cook.
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basset said on April 5, 2026 at 11:19 am
No big anniversary dinner last night, place we wanted (Brazilian steakhouse) was full so we’ll go tonight. Meanwhile, painters still aren’t done after close to two weeks on two rooms and a hallway; the actual painting is done but they haven’t replaced a hinge they lost so one cabinet stands open while they look for another.
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Dorothy said on April 5, 2026 at 11:51 am
Deborah I’ve come to the realization that I’m just really fed up with cooking. I mean I do it, but I enjoy the process less and less. I have to really be in the mood to do so these days. I realized a year or so ago that I just am really done with the whole shebang. You have to think of what you want to make, hopefully with the supplies you have on hand so you don’t have to go to the store. But of course you still have to go to the store, which involves meal planning. I can’t do meal planning a week in advance – my son and daughter do but I just cannot think of what I”m in the mood to eat and/or make days ahead of time. If I could afford to have someone cook for me, I’d do that. We don’t overdo eating out but I’m always grateful when we do. I feel like after a certain age I’ve earned the right to say I’M DONE WITH THIS B.S.! And like you I stress about getting everything to come out at the same time – if it’s just us two that’s not so bad. But if we have guests? I can hardly enjoy myself because of my conflicted feelings of cooking and talking to guests and making everything hot and ready to eat at the same time. My husband likes to cook and I usually like to eat what he cooks. But he’s slipped in some ways and I feel like I have to walk him through all the steps to get a meal on the table. On Tuesdays I take Olivia to dance class and I get home around 6:15, and he’ll have dinner ready. But one night he didn’t even think about a side dish to go with easy-to-make burgers. He was embarrassed that it didn’t occur to him until I walked in the door.
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Icarus said on April 5, 2026 at 1:47 pm
re cooking: as a pretty much full-time SAHD, I am responsible for feeding everyone. The Venn diagram of what my kids will eat is almost two separate circles.
There is a reason there is more than one book in the cooking section of a Barnes & Noble. I try my best to follow a recipe to the letter on the first try, but sometimes you have to improvise. I use Jarlic instead of actual garlic. I’ll use half and half instead of heavy cream if that’s what we have.
I detest having to buy an ingredient I will use 1-2 teaspoons of, but cannot buy it in a smaller quantity than a quart.
That said, I am a much better cook than I was in my 20s or 30s. I thought i could cook back then but really all I did was heat up pre-processed crap.
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Colleen said on April 5, 2026 at 1:58 pm
Dorothy, I also lack the skills to meal plan for the week. How will I know what I’m in the mood for? Will I have time to go to the store? Will I be exhausted? I admire meal planning skills, but I don’t have them.
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Deborah said on April 5, 2026 at 2:09 pm
When we’re in Santa Fe thank god, LB does the cooking. And in Chicago my husband and I trade off, every other evening I cook. But he only makes like 3 different things so every other night we have one of those. I’m not about to complain to him about that though because then I would be cooking more. I like to change it up to keep from getting bored with the same things but that’s where the anxiety increases. I like meals to be times when we sit and chat without feeling exhausted from the effort of making it. It’s not physically exhausting, it’s mental for me.
We go out to eat maybe once every other week and we only have 3 or so places in Chicago that we regularly go now. First they have to be walkable, they have to be tasty of course and not break the bank. There are lots of restaurants near us so the walkable part is easy but the affordable part is harder to find. We like being regulars where we know the wait staff etc, it makes it more fun and my husband is a big tipper so they like us.
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Dorothy said on April 5, 2026 at 3:06 pm
Have I shared this before? I think I’ve had this recipe for about seven years now, maybe more. It’s a go-to and we both devour every bite of it. I make it about once a month so we don’t get tired of it.
Ground turkey comes in one pound packages, or three pound packages. So I’ll buy a three pound one and split it in half. Freeze the other half. That way I have a 1/4 lb more than this recipe calls for. I hope some of you will try it AND enjoy it. (Icarus the chili paste lasts awhile in the fridge so this won’t fall into the category of only using a little bit of it, and the rest languishes in the fridge).
https://sweetphi.com/asian-ground-turkey-rice-bowls-recipe/
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Jeff Gill said on April 5, 2026 at 4:55 pm
Taos now looks different to me having driven there a few times from Cimarron, which is an hour and change of very engaged driving (mountain curves the whole way, basically), but you come into the place differently from the east. We ate a number of times at Martyrs Steakhouse, which is a name that catches you oddly at first, or it did me, but quickly settles into the layered odd history of the place. I was always happy to park in a public lot well east of downtown and walk long distances, which I admit might be less to my enjoyment today or in the future. But Martyrs has always been good food at a reasonable price (for Taos); we did find ourselves eavesdropping at the conversations around us over lunch, which always seemed to be outtakes from “Succession.” Kit Carson & his third wife, along with Padre Martinez & Mabel Dodge Luhan are all buried together in a little cemetery just east of there on the far side of Red Willow Park, on the way to the MDL House nearer the river, which is the one I think Deborah has mentioned a few times as having been owned by Dennis Hopper.
You have to go a bit further north to get to the ancient Taos Pueblo, but I think it worth the effort & extra expense. The whole place is a visit any of you should consider… my favorite church around there is south of town, the San Francisco de Asís Mission in Ranchos de Taos, which both Georgia O’Keefe & Ansel Adams famously made much of. But I can’t recall ever having bad food there, which could be a mix of altitude and hunger as seasonings. Philmont staff have always felt looked-out-for there.
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Jakash said on April 5, 2026 at 6:05 pm
Thanks Julie and Jeff G. for the opinions about JCS. Very cool that you got a “like” from mild-mannered Ted Neeley, Jeff!
I agree about the anxiety of having all the food ready at once. I marvel at how mothers seemed to do it so effortlessly at Thanksgiving and for big family meals. But I’ve NEVER liked cooking, though I do a lot of it. Very basic stuff however, not like the feasts you folks put together.
“I use Jarlic instead of actual garlic.” Never heard that term before, but I like it, Icarus! I also appreciate not having to peel and chop the stuff and we buy the giant jars from Costco. We don’t even come close to going through the whole jar, but I don’t care.
Happy Easter to those celebrating today!
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Julie Robinson said on April 5, 2026 at 6:35 pm
Happy Easter, all!
I too am sick of cooking, especially since we have a person with dietary restrictions so eating out is rare. I am very lucky because our daughter has taken over the menu planning, and the three of us tag team cook. One thing that’s helped us is a list of our favorite dishes, also I get emails from NYT cooking with lots of good ideas.
We got tired of trying to remember which cookbook which recipe was in, and got an app got ReciMe. Each time we make a meal we snap a picture of the recipe and import it, or share it from its website. I think she got a subscription but whatever it costs, it’s worth it.
Easter brunch was a casserole made by my son & wife, tater tots/ham/spinach/mushrooms/mozzarella, frozen cinnamon rolls (anyone else on the Rhodes train?), and a fruit salad made from a Costco fruit tray along with strawberries sprinkled walnuts. A guest brought flan that she had made. It was super easy, which was great, since we were tuckered from Easter prep. It didn’t need to be any more or any fancier, it’s just good to be together.
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Deborah said on April 5, 2026 at 8:19 pm
Jeff G, I could go on and on about Taos. There used to be a good restaurant near that church in Rancho de Taos, the chef was french and the food was delicious. A friend of ours who lives in Taos was at that restaurant once when Sting and Paul Simon were sitting at the table next to hers. We used to eat early lunches there on trips to Taos, we picked that time to go because the artist Agnes Martin had an early lunch there every day. We called them “Lunch with Agnes”, I got enough nerve one time to speak with her when she was finished eating. Agnes bequeathed her vintage white Mercedes to the waitress she always had there. We didn’t know Agnes had died because her Mercedes was outside the restaurant one day, when she wasn’t there the waitress filled us in. The restaurant was sold a few years ago, the chef owner had died, the last time we were in Taos it was still open but not the same.
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alex said on April 5, 2026 at 8:37 pm
Just pulled off an Easter buffet with everything right on time, but it helps when you can use outdoor grills as auxiliary ovens. We had a no-MAGA guest list this year, so today was a gathering of sympathetic souls who weren’t shy about talking politics or anything else. A great time was had by all.
I’m not a person of faith, but I have to share that we had a dead lily plant in our plant room that quite fittingly, even magically, maybe miraculously, resurrected itself and stood tall with three trumpet-like blossoms, and I can’t help but take it as a good sign. Wish I could share a picture of it. I’ll boast, in “Christian” fashion, that it outshone the fancy but squat little Easter lily that my friend Steve in Florida photographed admiringly on his coffee table and shared in a group chat.
Funniest line I read today was David French in the NYT reflecting on the tradition of the Catholic Easter Vigil creeping into fundamentalist protestant sects that once considered it idolatrous blasphemy: “The church of the smoke machine can sometimes imitate the church of incense.”
Hell, they could boost attendance even more just by making it a smoke-in.
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alex said on April 6, 2026 at 6:27 am
Who says the Washington Post has gone to shit?
Check out this cheeky piece: https://wapo.st/3Q7ucfj
(Gift article.)
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