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Glad you’re feeling better and yes, Simple Human is unequivocally the best kitchen trash can on the market. The lid! The foot pedal! The slender silhouette!

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Okay that seals the deal. I’m doing it!

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Wow, Ms. Sara B!

I am so glad you are on the mend, and excited about your new connection to Chicago! The Seven Fishes looks amazing. The late, lamented "Gourmet" magazine had a beautiful piece on the dinner back in the day.

The prospect of your playing a piece of sentient food very much intrigues me. One of my neighbors in Maryland is a local actor (he played one of the less-vocal jurors in "Ten Angry Men" on Broadway a ways back and his actor-wife was a prison matron in a John Waters movie). This lovely gent has offered to critique an experimental play-in-progress of mine called "Nine Scenes from a Layoff."

Among the characters, one with her own scene is a heroic, pregnant fly. This gravid creature is joined by a.) a lawyer surrounded by (actual) monsters b.) a press release of corporate gobbledy-gook; c.) a spouse cooking tomato soup - literally - scene takes place in venue kitchen; d.) a janitor who is the supervisor of a Brujo; and e.) a goddess walking along a river with the lawyer's soul in a jug under her arm. I can TOTALLY get behind sentient food characters! First and last sound of the play is (written down) BZZZZZZZZZ. The nine "Zs" are a deliberate choice and are not subject to revision. Yes, I AM an odd duck. : )

Finally, how exciting that you are writing AND performing. I have noticed that comics are some of the most intelligent and amazing actors out there. Will check out streaming media for your overloaded defense attorney role!

Very best to you for a prosperous, healthy, and creatively vibrant 2024!

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Dec 26, 2023Liked by Sara Benincasa

My husband's aunt and uncle do their own Feast of the Seven Fishes every year on Christmas Eve. I have yet to go, because in the last few years, Christmas Eve usually involves us doing the final touches on preparations for Christmas Day, which we fell into hosting. (Don't worry, we also relax and watch a Christmas movie or two.)

I spent the first 36.5 years of my life living in the St. Louis area. One of the biggest differences between the Midwest and the East Coast that I've found is what's considered "far". Living in St. Louis, Chicago was not considered "far", nor was anywhere else within six hours' driving distance. Here, you tell people you took a five or six hour road trip, and people look at you like you have eyes in the back of your head. We have a hybrid, which makes drives like that easier since there's less stopping for gas. Anyway, if you ever take a road trip or Amtrak ride to St. Louis, I recommend Cherokee Street. Lots of great Mexican places (among other things) in that area. There's a light rail line, but it unfortunately doesn't go a lot of places.

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Husbo used "my sweetheart" when we were middle-aged daters, and it was very quaint and adorable.

Glad you are feeling better and out in the world!

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Suddenly impelled to share with you the Winter 2023 tale of the day that Franz Kafka joined LinkedIn.

https://medium.com/@ma_murphy_58/franz-kafka-has-joined-linkedin-597cbf409f0e

Link from Medium. It is at its best when read aloud by the AI voice of "UK Harry."

Cheers!!!

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