the back burner

Date with Ani

Tonight I sat and read on a couch, with remnants of Frances sighing in through the curtains. Then I cut open a dark, wheat baguette and smeared butter and ricotta cheese on it. Then I cut up some front-yard basil and sliced some tomato, threw on some garlic, and tossed the whole thing in the oven. (I learned this trick from HD.)

When it was ready, I poured myself some apple juice and sat on the kitchen floor with Ani DiFranco. She actually sat on one of the cabinets and sang to me while I ate, on the floor. It was relaxing to hear somebody else tellling me stories while thinking about the next chapter in my own.

My friend Ani has lots of issues with being a woman, given the way the world sometimes works against her gender. We talked it out and both of us decided it we liked her better as a woman. And me as a man. And it would never work out.

I feel decidedly calmer.