Friday Donuts

Dear members and constituents, Over the past couple of days, there have been several occasions when my mind has been mesmerized by the intriguing beauty of the full moon. I sometimes wonder if the moon has a sway over human behavior as it does over the tides. I've heard it said that there are 20% more 9-1-1 calls on nights when there is a full moon (I've also heard it said that 57% of statistics are made-up on the spot to prove a point -- including this one). Be that as it may, I think there may be some validity to these claims. After all, if the moon's gravitational field can have a noticeable pull on the largest bodies of water (the oceans) , couldn't it's pull also effect subtle changes in the human body (which is mostly water)? What, you may be asking yourself, does this have to do with donuts? Well, let me tell you. Beyond the superficial resemblance donuts have to the full moon, every Friday morning they sway a tide of donut club members to my desk. Certainly

Dear members and constituents, Last week's donut e-mail and the ensuing whirlwind of positive feedback I received (on and offline) led me to ponder the nature of human expectations. Are we humans doomed to disappointment because we always expect something a little better than before? Hallway comments like "how are you going to top last week's e-mail?" make me wonder whether there is an implied expectation of an ever rising spiral of wit and humor. Are future donut e-mails going to be subject to a higher level of scrutiny? The fact that these thoughts have crossed my mind at all leads me to believe there may be something to it, which of course makes me chuckle. These are, after all, donuts we're talking about. Let's not take ourselves too seriously here. Fortunately, with donuts we always know what to expect. Sweet circular pastries that make Friday a day we all look forward to. Jay Leslie delights us today with three dozen such treats. So, come by and have you

Dear members and constituents, Did you catch the president's televised speech to the nation last night? Two of the three TV channels at my local gym carried it. As I ran on the treadmill I was able to watch most of it. Obviously, my lack of lip-reading skills meant I had to imagine what Mr. Bush must be saying. I could swear he used the word "donut" more than twice. Why not? It occurs to me he, like I, must surely see the parallels between democracy and donuts. While both begin with the letter D and people often have polarized views about them, I believe there are deeper similarities. Democracy is founded on the notion that all people have an equal right to a vote; Donuts do not care who eats them, all people are equal. Both have proponents and opponents and, despite their shortcomings, both seem a lot better than many alternatives out there. At the risk of taking the analogy too far, I would say neither is the solution to all of the world's problems nor can either be

Dear members and constituents, I've been thinking about the similarities that exist between the power of magic and the power of donuts. Clearly, they both can influence human behavior and mood. The way they both work is mysterious and it is hard to tell how much of the effects attributed to them are directly caused by either. Bite into a sweet donut and you feel a subtle change. Things somehow seem more brilliant, more resplendent, more…. well magical. Perhaps donuts ARE a form of magic. In any event, they're here*. Three and a half dozen donuts, courtesy of Mr. Michael Remacle via TimeWise. So come enjoy that levitation of the senses and be transfigured by a mystical circular pastry. Happy Friday!