Podcast 14

 

Reading Magazines

 

I’m the first to admit that I’m hooked on reading magazines. I’ve been this way as long as I can remember. I love picking up magazines about different topics. Currently, I subscribe to about six or seven magazines, although when I was getting professional journals during my days at the university, I probably had 15 or 20 coming to my box every month. Now I read mostly for pleasure. I like to read the New Yorker, because it is so well-written. I also get a copy of Atlantic Monthly and Harpers every month, because they have good coverage of cultural, political, and social issues. My latest is to read book reviews. There are a couple of really good book reviews published in the U.S.,

 

including the New York Review of Books. But the best reviews for my money are the Times Literary Supplement and the London Review of Books, both of which come out of England. I have to thank my friend Gustavo for turning me on to those two. I prefer to read the non-fiction reviews over the fiction ones, but that’s me. Ah, the joys of reading!

 

 

Eating Fast Food

 

My friend Julia called me the other day. She wanted to grab some lunch and asked me if I wanted to go to the local fast food place down the street. I said sure, even though I knew it wouldn’t be good for me. I hopped in my car and swung by to pick her up at her work. When we got to the restaurant, there was already a long line at the drive-through. It was the lunch hour, so that is to be expected. We inched forward in the driveway and finally reached the order station. “Welcome to McApple’s Restaurant. How can I help you today?” I leaned over to shout into the little box, “Uh, I’ll have a cheeseburger, and my friend will take a regular hamburger.” “Would you like anything to drink with that?” she asked. She had a very low voice. “Two diet Cokes, please,” I said. “And would you like any fries with that?” she asked again. “No, just the hamburgers, thanks.” “That’ll be $8.75. Please pull forward.” We drove up to the pick up window and paid the cashier. Our food was ready about 30 seconds later. “Thank you!” I said as we drove away . We pulled over to the side of the road to eat our hamburgers. I knew I was going to regret it, but it sure did taste good!