They're kind of the same person. No need to choose.
No, no, no, Rebecca, no one puts cream in their tea! It's milk that goes into tea! I'm using all these exclamation points because I'm freaked out because you talked for too long about waxing the lady bits and now mine are all squirmy and shuddery! Please to not do that any more! Thank you!
Oh Dok, Dok, Dok, the quote is, "A little learning is a dangerous thing", not "a little knowledge." This little pony is weeping quietly into her hanky.
The delivery boy brought me a dozen long-stemmed roses with a note saying, "Love always, Your Ernie." So I says to my friend Clementine, "You know what this means, Clementine? I'm going to be on my back for the next two weeks with my legs spread." And she says to me, "What's wrong with you, Soph? Haven't you got a vase?" *
(Bette pronounced this 'vahhz'--best show ever.)
No cats, feral or otherwise, eat the stomach and intestines: they're poisonous. I'm glad I know this. My cat lived for more than a year only on what he killed (I lived in the forest for a while); never was he healthier, leaner, stronger than when he ate only what his body was meant to eat. But I had to designate one rug as the "kill rug" as he always brought his food indoors and this kept the blood stains in one small area. I didn't fancy picking up the intestines, though I got used to it. And once he brought up a chipmunk, which was too much for one meal--he stowed the rest under my bed. That was not a fun day!
This is not quite true. The cash register knows to add up those items which are eligible for SNAP. You swipe your card which looks like a debit card and which does not say SNAP on it (every state's looks different), and if there is non-food items, or if you don't have sufficient $ on your card, you pay for the rest, but the items themselves don't get separated. And the person behind you really has to be up close and pushing into your business in order to even see with what card one is paying. I'm sure there are obnoxious people who do that, but most are respectful simply because they assume the person paying is using some sort of card which requires a PIN and etiquette demands staying back.
Yeah, so no blowing the food stamps on penguin filet.
I have actually been to Cinque Terre, for two whole weeks, and it is gorgeous. And it is possible to go there and to Florence for another two weeks (and to many other places in the world), without being rich. You have to be smart and resourceful, go off-season, stay in hostels, go to the market and cook your own food, and care more about the beauty and the people of the place than luxury. I'm not rich, nor even (economically speaking) middle class--I'm a starving artist with an ability to save, plan, and travel with just a backpack (not having much to pack anyway). Not taking or buying possessions is, actually, very freeing. Some of us know that because we live that way; some of us discover it by accident. Good for her.
However, the Times' timing is a bit off. This may not have been the week to write about traveling in Italy, unburdened or otherwise. Escapism? It can be fun, but right now it does feel a bit unseemly. Were I able to get up and go right now I might do it (to Paris this time). But I wouldn't crow about it.