LET'S HAVE A TOAST!

There are seven pillars of life that help one maintain one's equanimity and balance in life. As a Dutch speaker in San Francisco, surrounded by diseased savages who emigrated from Arkansas, Mississippi, or Ohio. Or New York, as evinced by the proliferation of bagels, seltzer, mediocre hot dogs, and bad pizza. Errm, make that eight.

Eight pillars. Of civilized life.

Tea, whisky, pipe tobacco, curry, pastries, Chinese food, newspapers, and buttered toast with thick cut Dundee or Oxford marmalade.

These also work if you are a Parsee, or an Indian military officer.

Or, godforbid, if you are Scottish.

Whether you are located in Amsterdam, Bremerhaven, Stockholm, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Gandhinagar, Khadki, or San Francisco, these seven hold. Chilipaste, sambal, or Sriracha add inestimably to two of them. If you are a Parsee or an Indian Military officer, six of them are of even greater importance. Not being either a Parsee OR an Indian military gentleman, regrettably, I have done without whisky since my doctor put me on blood pressure meds.
But have thankfully increased my dosages of the others.

Well, except for the newspapers. I read my news on the internet nowadays, because printed feuilletons have largely become crap. And that goes double for the Algemeen Dagblad and De Telegraaf. If you are from New York, or live there still, then chilipaste, sambal, and Sriracha improve the bagels, dogs, and pizza. Nothing helps with selzer.


Current pipe tobaccos: Anthology and Carolina Red Flake by Cornell & Diehl, Palmetto Balkan by the same company, and Aberrant by Sutliff. The last two mostly at work, where there are open tins. I haven't cracked any of mine yet. Also smoking the flake marketed under the Charatan name (another open tin at work), which is exceedingly nice too.

I wish there was some way of making toast in Mill Valley.
I would keep butter and marmalade there.
It would alleviate matters.


I've already got Sriracha on site.
And tea. And pipe tobacco.



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