Although he would rather have been stuck in an elevator with bees, Geoffrey, our 20-year-old, came to stay for New Year’s Eve because he had literally nothing else to do without breaking the law. No gatherings allowed. Our 24-year-old daughter, Clara, who hasn’t lived with us in years, spent the evening in our guest room recovering from having wisdom teeth yanked out of her head. While one moped and the other moaned, for my husband and me, the presence of two other humans in our quarantined home several months into the pandemic was alarming, like we’d been invaded by bears.
The only thing I could think to do for the evening was contribute to the war effort, so to speak, by supporting local restaurants, which were desperate for takeaway orders. But Clara could only imbibe baby food through a straw; my husband, Ambrose, is a diabetic vegetarian who had just gone off flour, potatoes, and sugar; and Geoffrey wasn’t focused on food at all. He yearned for something unobtainable, like a girlfriend he might meet at a party, or, failing that … I don’t know … a bowl of opium.
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BOOKS
Books review
STUDIO - Off Lamington Road by Gieve Patel
Oil on Canvas, 54 x 88 in
NEWS FROM THE WORLD OF MEDICINE
FOODS THAT FIGHT DEMENTIA
TO HELL AND BACK
The Darvaza crater in Turkmenistan is known as the Gates of Hell. I stood on its edge - and lived to tell the tale
THE SNAKE CHARMERS
Invasive Burmese pythons are squeezing the life out of Florida's vast Everglades. An unlikely sisterhood is taking them on
Sisterhood to Last a Lifetime
These college pals teach a master class in how to maintain a friendship for 50-plus years
...TO DIE ON A HOCKEY RINK
ONE MINUTE I WAS PLAYING IN MY BEER LEAGUE, THE NEXT I WAS IN THE HOSPITAL
Just Sit Tight
Broken, battered and trapped in a ravine for days, I desperate driver wonders, \"Will anyone find me?\"
Allow Me to Mansplain...
If there's one thing we know, it's this: We're a nation of know-it-alls
THE BITTER TRUTH ABOUT SUGAR (AND SUGAR SUBSTITUTES!)
It's no secret that we have a serious addiction. Here's how to cut back on the sweet stuff, once and for all.