Housework, if done properly, can kill you

One of my favorite places for years was the kitchen at 22 South Lincoln Avenue in Washington, New Jersey. It wasn't a big modern kitchen. It was a comfortable kitchen with a small table and an old-fashioned farmhouse sink, which I really liked because it was lower than modern sinks so easier to wash dishes in. By the time I spent hours there, the walls had been painted, but I knew under that paint were comments and sayings written by journalists and cops and neighbors and hangers on. Those were the times when reporters and cops would hand out (read: drink) together. Over the table hung a sign that read "Housework, if done properly, can kill you." That sign is now in my kitchen.

A Spaniard in the Works

When John Lennon wrote the book with the above title, he was just having some fun with the language. He didn't have to worry about the political correctness of using "Spaniard" for Spanner because the term hadn't been invented. Back then, we still said "Mexican photo" for a picture that lined up people and "shot them down." We still said Chinese fire drill for jumping out of the car and turning around it before getting back in different seats. We had nothing against Spaniards, Mexicans or the Chinese, it was just something you said. While I don't defend an era of unconcern, things were certainly easier then.