APRIL 2024 MAGAZINE

 If I take a look at the people who are in my life—and that includes all of you—then this is the moment when I can express great gratitude. Thank you for being part of this journey with me.

The dead man splayed on the sidewalk looks ready to be drawn and quartered like an angus cow. Cops are called to pick him up before his corpse starts to stink. One couple is huddled together on the ground in front of a doorway.  The woman lies on the top of the man and sticks a hypodermic needle into his lip. A young black boy, curled into fetal position, is passed-out under a sleeping bag. His baseball cap has fallen off his head and while he appears to be asleep, there is no way to tell if he’s dead, unless you want to touch him and no one wants to do that. Outside the parking garage, spoons, needles and matches are left on the ground like the remnants of a messy supper.  And this is the wealthy part of town.

In the early days of personal computers one of the selling points was the idea of keeping recipes on file, stored on the PC or a floppy disc. Ordered, retrievable, easily cross-referenced by ingredients, making it easy to make a shopping list and to follow the directions.  No more tattered papers, no more lost recipes folded or stored in a book somewhere.