Thursday, September 04, 2014

Various and Roz Chast

A bunch of this and that:  Did a bit more of the interminable clear-out chores.  I just uncovered yet another shoe box-sized container chock full of pictures; haven't yet gone through them.
My friend came and showed me how to operate the slide projector so I can examine the hundreds of slides, some interesting personal ones, some boring, sixty-three-year-old crap from when Pat was in France in the military.  
Called Betty and left messages re Jay's anniversary on both phones. Talked to her at the end of the day and found she didn't get either; luckily, many of her friends rallied around, some going to the dedicated mass, others taking her to dinner.
It's farm day and I'll go early and pick for my friend, too.  Spoke to erstwhile old friend, Rosalie P., and we'll meet for lunch in East Windsor.  I have a number of old photos I want to give her from the days when we hung out.
Susan called to ask if I wanted to go on a van tour to Morven, the traditional governor's house (not sure if the current unholy freak lives there or not) and Princeton Cemetery.  I've been to both before and decided not, but said I'd be interested in a "Taste of Jersey" van tour that's scheduled for the day after tomorrow.  There's almost no chance we'll get on that, as the van holds only fourteen, and usually, sign-up must be months ahead or it's filled.  I'll give her my registration and check and she'll go there first thing today to see if, by some miracle, we're able to get on.
Started reading Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? by my favorite cartoonist, Roz Chast, whose work runs regularly in The New Yorker.  The book concerns her struggles with her aging parents (both over ninety when she introduces them in the book and she's an only child) and consists of about equal parts cartoons and written notes.  The latter isn't in typeface, but  appears as hand-printing.
The book is just fabulous.  Chast's work is anything but banal and boring, but nor is it so "sophisticated" it's both unfunny and nonsensical.  It's invariably from today's world and has a unique quality that seems to me to combine sharp observation and straight-to-the-point comment that can be acerbic, but is never cruel.
Anyway, it's great and I've already promised to lend it to my friend and to Betty.    
   

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