Letters from a Traveling Kate.
Showing posts with label stateside. Show all posts
Showing posts with label stateside. Show all posts
my man shakespeare
In the time of sewage thrown out of windows, London had it RIGHT.
For all our Mets and pyrotechnics and decadent stagecraft, the cradle of Anglo society 400 years ago is where it's at. You could sit and stand and watch the spit fly as actual humanity unfolded on the stage mere feet from you. Guilt and rage and fire and love and jealousy--the whole gamut of human emotion expressed in the strongest prose ever written, framed by applause and cheers and the clang of swords.
C'est AWESOME.
For all our Mets and pyrotechnics and decadent stagecraft, the cradle of Anglo society 400 years ago is where it's at. You could sit and stand and watch the spit fly as actual humanity unfolded on the stage mere feet from you. Guilt and rage and fire and love and jealousy--the whole gamut of human emotion expressed in the strongest prose ever written, framed by applause and cheers and the clang of swords.
C'est AWESOME.
a quest
I have lately become obsessed with TimTams.
A TimTam, for those who don't know, is magic in cookie form. Layers of cookie and frosting and chocolate, the size of a credit card, eaten plain or used as a milk straw. Australia carries them in eight flavors. Missionaries slam them dozens at a time. They are Simply Wonderful.
I was beyond chagrined when my grocery store abruptly stopped carrying them, especially when the discovery of said cessation took place at 5:00 AM after an all-night not-quite fifteen-page paper on Korean economic development. Apparently they are "kind of seasonal." Minor meltdown occurred.
During finals week, I tried another store. I got smart this time and called ahead.
Employee: "You've reached ___'s, how may I help you?"
Me: "Yes, do you have TimTams? You know, the cookie?"
Her: "Let me check."
*PAUSE*
She Returns (a little too quickly): "Why yes! Aisle 17."
Five minutes later, I am so there. Aisle 17 proves to be baking goods--not a cookie in sight. I reach the end of the aisle and double back to no avail. There is, however, a gleaming display of tin pans. You know, for cooking?
I was not a happy camper. But in face of such trials, what do you think I did? I drove 138 miles to the nearest Pepperidge Farm factory and stocked up. Totally worth it.
A TimTam, for those who don't know, is magic in cookie form. Layers of cookie and frosting and chocolate, the size of a credit card, eaten plain or used as a milk straw. Australia carries them in eight flavors. Missionaries slam them dozens at a time. They are Simply Wonderful.
I was beyond chagrined when my grocery store abruptly stopped carrying them, especially when the discovery of said cessation took place at 5:00 AM after an all-night not-quite fifteen-page paper on Korean economic development. Apparently they are "kind of seasonal." Minor meltdown occurred.
During finals week, I tried another store. I got smart this time and called ahead.
Employee: "You've reached ___'s, how may I help you?"
Me: "Yes, do you have TimTams? You know, the cookie?"
Her: "Let me check."
*PAUSE*
She Returns (a little too quickly): "Why yes! Aisle 17."
Five minutes later, I am so there. Aisle 17 proves to be baking goods--not a cookie in sight. I reach the end of the aisle and double back to no avail. There is, however, a gleaming display of tin pans. You know, for cooking?
I was not a happy camper. But in face of such trials, what do you think I did? I drove 138 miles to the nearest Pepperidge Farm factory and stocked up. Totally worth it.
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