Sunday, October 23, 2016

Busy Buzzy Busy

Oy this weekend has been exhausting.  I have had to sneak & steal moments just to work on my damn show!

Yesterday, the lovely wife & I went to Dallas to spent way too much time & money at the 2016 Texas Veggie Fair.  Both of us are vegan, hopefully not insufferably so, & we enjoyed the food & the presentations & the booths of like-minded folks.  Seriously, we ate so much good food.  This is something that perhaps veggie-friendly carnivores & omnivores don't understand: if there's a barbecue or some other meat-based event, people who choose (for whatever reason) not to eat animal products are ultimately left out.  I was watching a presentation at yesterday's fair at which the presenter asked, "How many of you are veggie-curious?"  About a third of the attendees raised their hands.

There's a difficulty in explaining my veganism to people that's encapsulated in that anecdote: vegan events are open to everyone; meat-based events are only open to people who eat meat.

I remember an old interview from the 1950s with Carl Sandburg in which he was asked what was the word in the English language he disliked most, & he said, "Exclusive."  He repeated it, "Exclusive."  He elaborated, "Because when you say, 'exclusive,' you leave out a whole swath of humanity."

(The quotes of course are from my memory, & probably not entirely verbatim.)

The wife & I had a wonderful time.  We love to be reminded that there are like-minded folks in the world, & not all people worship at the greasy altar of McDonald's Chik Filet of Taco Bell.

Tonight we're going to see the wonderful comedian & cultural critic Hari Kondabolu.  His most recent CD Mainstream American Comic is very funny & insightful.  I thrilled to the fact that he was coming to town, so I nabbed tickets right away.

Not to belabor a point, but we hope to get vegan food in Dallas when we see him.

& oh god I hope I have time to work on my show later tonight!  After the show!  Or tomorrow!  Oh god oh god oh god oh god oh god!*

*Any god will do.  Greek, Norse, Egyptian, Hindu, Maya.  Please aid me in my hour of need.  I can burn incense or something.  You like incense, yes?  Cool.  Cool.

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