I hope you had a great 4th of July.
I did.
I began by working on my latest masterpiece, an epic self-portrait installation. Things went so well, I would have blown a trumpet out the window if I'd had one. Then a friend of mine stopped by for lunch. At first the scene in my lair seemed downright pastoral: I fried up some grilled cheese sandwiches while he read to me aloud from a book by Charles Bukowski.
We sat on bar stools and ate at my kitchen counter, equipped with our bare hands and a bottle of ketchup. As we gobbled down our glorious repast, we talked about art, life, and the world situation.
Eventually I got bored and changed the subject. "Enough about art, life, and the world situation. Let's talk about me."
He took a bite of his sandwich, chewed, and swallowed before he replied. "What about you?"
"If someone asked you to describe me in one sentence, what would you say?"
His face assumed the guarded expression he wears when I ask him things like "Do I look fatter than when I first met you?" and "Do you think I'm a genius?"
He said nothing.
"Come on," I said. "Be honest: I can take it."
He continued his silence for another half minute. Then his big blue eyes brightened, and a grin invaded his visage. He leaned forward and said in a voice filled with self-confidence, "I'd say you're a slice of life."
Score one for his team.