My obligatory (and probably final) Katrina anniversary post

"Buck up -- Never say die. We'll get along!" says the Tramp.

The bicycle speaks

Quoth: "A mournful cry escapes my lips/someone stole my rubber grips."

Yes, we still have bananas

Everything else on the patio is dead, dying or prostrate with the late August heat. Pulling on a tall glass of lemonade just now, I was so grateful for my healthy, shade-giving bananas. 

Feast on the cheap

I'm feeling a whole lot better about surviving the worldwide financial collapse and coming Great Depression II after a grand dinner for four last night that cost all of five bucks maybe.
   A charming (and extremely wise and frugal) companion dropped by with a brace of "pork steaks," plucked from Matassa's meat cases at $1.59 a pound. In normal times, I would have passed on this unpromising cut from the lowest end of a pig as the vilest form of trefe, but the C.C. knew exactly how to fix things. She blasted away all the fat and gristle over the hottest coals -- my God, you should have seen the flames! -- then smothered everything with KC Masterpiece barbeque sauce to slow cook with the lid down. Smokin' damned delicious they were, I must say.
   For sides, she threw together a salad of sliced red onion and cucumber, and I made a pot of Wal-Mart "Great Value" brand quick grits sprinkling in fresh-cut kernels from two ears of corn, chopped green onions, and some shredded Monterey Jack. These were served on white Limoges with gilt trim, a very pretty sight.
   The evening began with G & T's made with Gordon's gin and Wal-Mart tonic. I never serve top-shelf gin to my guests on the theory that the downtrodden sots and slatterns of Hogarth's day appreciated what I'm just beginning to learn, that cheap is good. Here's to more fun times in downgraded double-A-rated America!           
   

Ode to an Abandoned Bicycle

Little bike outside my door,

You’ve been there a month or more,

Tell me who you’re waiting for.

Where’s your rider? Lemme think.

Gone to Buffa’s for a drink?

Mugged a tourist, in the clink?

Oh, I wish I had the key

To unlock the lock and set you free

To roll the streets of Marigny!

"The Girl I Love Don't Pay Me No Mind" and other famous tunes. Pretty much the whole sad story of my life so far.