Friday Donuts

Friends, When I think of terrorism, the name ‘AL’ appears to have a long running association with fear. Al-Qaeda and Al-Shabaab have been grabbing the headlines of late, but the name has an entrenched association with dread. Have you heard of Al-Ḵwārizmī, whose ‘Algebra’ has been terrorizing teenagers for generations? Or Al Roker rubbing our face on everything from Superstorm Sandy to flooding in Louisiana -making us all a little agoraphobic? Then there’s Al Gore with his robotic mannerisms –making us all a little AlGorePhobic (alright that was bad). From weird Al Yankovik terrorizing songwriters by twisting their lyrics to Al Capone’s reign of terror in Chicago to Al Pacino’s “say hello to my li’l friend”... ‘nuff said! And although this alarming allegory may alienate a lot of Alberts, Alans and Alexanders, it's allegedly all a laughable anecdote (and a lamentable alliteration). Of course, there’s no AL connection to donuts -although they are “the bomb”. And while one of the d

Friends, Kids are starting school, days are getting shorter and, driving in this morning, I had to wear a light jacket (granted it was early and I had the top down). Summer is winding-down and like most years I am amazed at how fast it went by. I will admit I’m looking forward to the milder weather and while I didn’t get everything I hoped done this summer, our family did a fair bit and we created some good memories. Of course stores are mostly done with their back to school shtick and will soon be decorating for Christmas. Meanwhile, have a donut – they go fast too, so you better hurry. Happy Friday!

Friends, It occurs to me that some words sound better when spoken in a specific accent. I’m not talking about words that are primarily used by people with that accent such as bespoke (London) or mate and sheila (Australia). I’m talking about rather ordinary words enhancing their appeal through an accent. Take the word loitering . Unremarkable, unless you use a Cockney accent. Or tonight’s meteor outburst, the perseids . The word sounds awkward, unless… you use the Queen’s English. Of course there are other words which don’t benefit from such a treatment. Take the word Olympics or the word donuts . Neither is improved by the use of an accent. They are, however, improved if you combine them in John Belushi’s classic (yet timely) Saturday Night Live skit: “ little chocolate donuts ”. As you make your way up to grab a donut, think of accent/word combinations you’d like to share. Happy Friday!

Friends, When was the last time you were on a propeller plane? Personally, I had to go deep into the memory vault. It had been so long, in fact, I figured commercial airlines no longer used them. So, you can imagine my surprise this week when I boarded one. Looking out my propeller-side window I wondered what damage those man-sized weedwhacker asps were capable of inflicting as their droning noise gradually became the sole focus of everyone's attention. So loud, coherent thought became impossible, let alone a friendly conversation with your neighbor. With a cruising altitude of 100 feet (or at least it felt that way), the Dash 8-300 has the grace of a penguin walking, a giraffe swimming or a turkey flying. And loud, did I mention it was loud? The short hop across state lines was done in no time, but my eardrums took much longer to recover. Still, I survived and made it l back with a story, and with time to share some sweet pastries with you. There's a dozen dunkin' donuts